The US Department of Defense has removed Xiaomi from a government blacklist that prevented American investment in the smartphone manufacturer.
The company was one of several Chinese firms to be blacklisted in the final days of the Trump administration due to perceived links with the Chinese military.
Xiaomi denied these allegations and responded with a lawsuit that argued the status was “unlawful and unconstitutional.” A judge then temporarily blocked the enforcement of the ruling, stating the government process for issuing the ban was flawed.
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Xiaomi blacklist
Now the blacklisting has been reversed, and the two parties have agreed to resolve outstanding litigation without any further contest, according to a court filing seen by Reuters. Xiaomi share rose 6% on receipt of the news and the company has been contacted for comment.
Although Xiaomi has a limited presence in the US, it is now the world’s third biggest smartphone manufacturer, with its affordable, feature-packed phones driving significant sales in China and beyond.
This includes Western Europe, which has proved to be a tricky region for Chinese vendors to crack, except Huawei. Coincidentally, Xiaomi has been one of the main beneficiaries of Huawei’s struggles with the US.
Technology had proved to be a significant arena for Trump’s foreign policy towards China and Huawei was the most high-profile casualty.
In addition to pressuring other governments to ban Huawei from their rollouts of 5G networks, the Trump administration effectively banned the company from dealing with suppliers based in the US or who relied on American technology. This effectively dealt a deathblow for Huawei’s ambitions to become the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer and led to the sale of its Honor subsidiary.
Huawei is now believed to have fallen to be the worlds’ seventh largest manufacturer.
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Via Reuters
