The Trump administration in its waning days took another swipe at China and its biggest firms on Thursday, imposing sanctions on officials and companies for alleged misdeeds in the South China Sea and imposing an investment ban on nine more firms.
Senior U.S. officials told reporters on a call Thursday the new CNOOC restrictions will not apply to crude, refined fuels and liquid natural gas and do not apply to existing joint ventures with CNOOC that do not operate in the South China Sea. Shares in Xiaomi slumped over 8% in early Friday trading, against a 0.2% drop in the Hang Seng index, while CNOOC Ltd shares rose around 1%.In its response, the Chinese embassy referred to Jan. 7 Foreign Ministry comments accusing Washington of"pinning political and ideological labels on economic and trade issues and exploiting its state power to crack down on foreign companies, under the pretext of national security.
"The United States stands with Southeast Asian claimant states seeking to defend their sovereign rights and interests, consistent with international law," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in announcing the sanctions. The Commerce Department accused CNOOC of harassing and threatening offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction in the South China Sea,"with the goal of driving up the political risk for interested foreign partners, including Vietnam."
Ross's department added CNOOC to an"Entity List" that requires firms to be granted a special license before they can receive exports of high-tech items from U.S. suppliers.