US restricts trade with 42 Chinese entities over Russia support

The U.S. Commerce Department on October 6 added 42 Chinese companies to a government export control list over their support for Moscow's military and defence industrial base - support that includes the supply of U.S.-origin integrated circuits.

Another seven entities from Finland, Germany, India, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom were also added to the trade export control list, Reuters reports.

The circuits include microelectronics that Russia uses for precision guidance systems in missiles and drones launched against civilian targets in Ukraine, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

"Today’s additions to the Entity List provide a clear message: if you supply the Russian defence sector with U.S.-origin technology, we will find out, and we will take action," Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in the statement.

China called the U.S. action "economic coercion and unilateral bullying".

"The United States should immediately correct its wrong practices and stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

It has been 20 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. A Russian missile strike in a village in northeastern Ukraine on October 5 killed at least 52 people in one of the most deadly attacks yet.

Companies are added to the U.S. Entity List when Washington deems them a threat to U.S. national security or foreign policy. Suppliers must then be granted generally hard-to-get licenses before shipping goods to entities on the list.