Longer blacklist belies hollowness of Washington's 'competition' claim

On Friday, the US Department of Commerce announced it was adding five Chinese companies and one research institute to its export blacklist.

The US Commerce Department justified the move by claiming that the six entities support "China's military modernization efforts, specifically the People's Liberation Army's aerospace programs including airships and balloons".

Although US President Joe Biden reiterated in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that "we seek competition, not conflict", the sensationalizing of the airship into a "spy balloon" has given his administration an excuse to once again abuse US export controls to target more Chinese high-tech enterprises.