Xiaomi's security ban formally lifted by US court, vacated from 'Communist Chinese Military Company' designation

In a final order passed Tuesday, 25 May, by the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Xiaomi has been vacated of the US Department of Defense’s designation of the company as a Communist Chinese Military Company (CCMC). “Xiaomi (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that on 25 May 2021 at 4.09 pm (Eastern Standard Time), the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued a final order vacating the US Department of Defense’s designation of the Company as a “Communist Chinese Military Company” (CCMC). In vacating the designation, the court formally lifted all restrictions on US persons’ ability to purchase or hold securities of the Company,” a Xiaomi spokesperson said. “The Company is grateful for the trust and support of its global users, partners, employees and shareholders. The Company reiterates that it is an open, transparent, publicly traded, independently operated and managed corporation. The Company will continue to provide reliable consumer electronics products and services to users, and to relentlessly build amazing products with honest prices to let everyone in the world enjoy a better life through innovative technology,” the spokesperson added. [caption id=“attachment_7731301” align=“alignright” width=“1024”]  Representational image: Reuters[/caption] In April this year, the US government and Xiaomi Corp reached an agreement to set aside a Trump administration blacklisting . In February 202, the US government blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and China’s third-largest national oil company **for alleged military links** , heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump’s last week in office. The Department of Defense added nine companies to its list of Chinese companies with military links, including Xiaomi and state-owned plane manufacturer Commercial Aircraft of China (Comac). US investors will have to divest their stakes in Chinese companies on the military list by November this year, according to an executive order signed by Trump in November.