Washington Imposes Sanctions on 5 China-Based Tech Companies for Violating US Intellectual Property Rights
The US State Department announces sanctions on five Chinese tech companies involved in stealing trade secrets, as part of the Trump administration's efforts to protect American innovation.
Translated by Qiyas from كونا — Original source
Washington, October 19 (KUNA) – The U.S. Department of State announced on Monday the imposition of sanctions on five China-based technology companies, accusing them of involvement in practices that violate the intellectual property rights of Americans. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement that the sanctioned entities are linked to a Chinese citizen named Linwei Deng, and that the sanctions were imposed under the U.S. Intellectual Property Protection Act and in light of “their involvement in the theft of trade secrets belonging to U.S. individuals.” Pigott emphasized that the theft of trade secrets “poses a serious threat to U.S. economic interests, foreign policy interests, and national security.” He noted that these sanctions follow an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into the activities of the aforementioned individual. He clarified that “on January 29, 2026, a U.S. federal jury convicted Deng on seven counts related to the theft of trade secrets, finding him guilty of stealing thousands of pages of confidential information, including trade secrets belonging to Google related to artificial intelligence technology, for the purpose of achieving personal gain and benefiting China-based technology companies.” The U.S. official stressed that the theft of trade secrets linked to sensitive and emerging technologies harms U.S. jobs, companies, and investments, and costs the U.S. industrial sector billions of dollars annually. He also noted that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump “reaffirms its firm commitment to protecting American innovation and safeguarding the rights of Americans from intellectual property theft.” (End) R.S.R. / N.S.A.
