By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision said on Friday that it had exited contracts it has in China’s Xinjiang region via five of its subsidiaries that were added to a U.S. trade block list last year. Hikvision, which calls itself the world’s biggest maker of video surveillance equipment, said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange that contracts with five local governments in the region were now terminated.
The contracts began in 2017 and were meant to have a maintenance period of ten to twenty years starting in 2018, according to the filing, which did not give a reason for their termination.
The affected Hikvision subsidiaries, which according to the filing will cease business operations, are Luopu Haishi Dingxin Electronic Technology, Moyu Haishi Electronic Technology, Pishan Haishi Yong’an Electronic Technology, Urumqi Haishi Xin’an Electronic Technology, and Yutian Haishi Meitian Electronic Technology.
These five firms, all based in different parts of Xinjiang, were added last year to a U.S. trade boycott list known as the Entity List for allegedly aiding in the repression and high-tech surveillance of the region’s Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
The Chinese government has denied any allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and has criticised or targeted companies for removing Xinjiang firms from their supply chains.
Hikvision, also known as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, has for the past five years been targeted by a barrage of U.S. sanctions and restricions for its dealings and the use of its equipment in Xinjiang, where rights groups have documented abuses against the Uyghur population and other Muslim-majority minorities in the region.
Washington’s curbs against Hikvision include adding it to the Entity List in 2019, which meant that American suppliers have had to obtain licenses in order to ship equipment to the company.
The company has also for the past four years not been allowed to sell to U.S. federal government agencies and was designated as a threat to national security by U.S. telcos regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2021.
Hikvision has responded by hiring lobbyists and engaging U.S. law firm Arent Fox LLP to conduct an internal review to “better protect” human rights, Reuters reported in 2021.
Efforts to disentangle from Xinjiang, however, have been been challenging for many companies.
In November, German automaker Volkswagen announced that it would sell its controversial Xinjiang plant after years of mounting pressure over its presence in the region.
Hikvision made almost $11.7 billion in sales revenue last year and has a presence in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide, according to its annual report for 2023.
Overseas revenue has grown faster compared to domestic, accounting for 32% of the company’s total revenue last year, compared to 28% in 2021. The annual reports do not provide country or region-level breakdowns.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Beijing Newsroom. Editing by Jane Merriman)
