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FOR TWO years reports of mass incarceration have seeped out of the remote Chinese province of Xinjiang. Over 1m people, mainly Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, have been locked up in camps. Millions more live under a police state. American officials, fearful of upending trade negotiations, have dithered over a response. On October 7th, three days ahead of the 13th round of talks, they put their foot down. The Commerce Department banned American firms from selling software and hardware to 20 public-security organs. It also blacklisted eight Chinese companies whose products, it says, facilitate the Orwellian surveillance in Xinjiang.

The ban hits at the heart of China’s artificial-intelligence (AI) ambitions. The eight firms include startups working on facial recognition (Megvii, SenseTime, Yitu), voice recognition (iFlytek), digital forensics (Xiamen Meiya Pico) and chipmaking gear (Yixin), as well as Shenzhen-listed makers of video-surveillance kit (Hikvision and Dahua). Together they are worth around $75bn. In August Megvii and Yitu were designated as national champions.

https://www.economist.com/business/2019/10/09/america-blacklists-chinas-best-artificial-intelligence-firms
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