Topline
The U.S. Department of Defense added China’s biggest chipmaker, SMIC and major oil firm CNOOC to a trade blacklist due to their alleged ties to the country’s military, continuing the outgoing Trump administration’s crackdown on Chinese firms.

China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has been added to a U.S. trade … [+]
Key Facts
Late on Thursday, the Department of Defense announced a total of four additions to its blacklist also including China Construction Technology Co Ltd and China International Engineering Consulting Corp.
SMIC, which is China’s biggest semiconductor maker, relies heavily on equipment and software from U.S. suppliers to design and manufacture its chips.
In a stock exchange filing on Friday the Chinese chipmaker said that it was aware of the action and was still evaluating the potential fallout.
Crucial Quote
In a Wall Street Journal