The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the US Department of Commerce on August 21 removed 27 Chinese entities from the “Unverified List”, a move that received a positive response from China.

Removal from the “Unverified List” means lifting restrictions on Chinese entities, allowing them to receive shipments from US exporters and maintain normal business cooperation between the two sides.

The US move came before China’s Ministry of Commerce announced a visit by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao. Ms. Raimondo is scheduled to visit Beijing and Shanghai from August 27-30.

Ms. Raimondo will be the fourth senior member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China since June, following Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry. The visits have so far yielded few breakthroughs, but both sides are eager to portray the talks as a positive step forward for bilateral relations.

In a statement on August 21, the BIS said it had removed 33 foreign entities from its red flag list, a list of companies subject to strict US export controls worldwide. In addition to the 27 Chinese entities, the rest are located in Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to experts, among the 27 Chinese entities mentioned above are Beijing PowerMac, Guangdong Guanghua Science and Technology, Suzhou Chaowei Jingna Optoelectronics, and Hunan University. These entities are mainly active in fields such as photovoltaics, machinery manufacturing, electronics, computer science, chemistry, and biotechnology.

Guo Qinwen, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said the BIS move would help businesses in China and the US conduct normal business cooperation, while ensuring a stable and secure global industrial and supply chain.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on August 22, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China welcomed the US move because it demonstrated that the two sides could resolve their concerns through communication on the basis of mutual respect.

China also appears to be trying to ease tensions with the US. Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on August 21 that China-US relations as well as economic and trade cooperation are currently facing certain difficulties, requiring both sides to show sincerity.

Mr. Li also affirmed that China will open up further to the outside world and is willing to cooperate with the United States in fulfilling their responsibilities as major countries, jointly upholding international trade rules and ensuring the stability of global industrial and supply chains, he affirmed at a meeting with a delegation from the US-China Business Council.

This is not the first time the US has removed Chinese companies from the “Unverified List”. In December 2022, the US Department of Commerce removed 26 entities from the list after Beijing allowed US representatives to inspect their compliance with regulations. In 2022, the US government also added 64 Chinese companies to the red flag list, including 33 in February and 31 in October .

Nguyen Tuyet (According to China Daily, Bloomberg)