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Report: Here’s why the US added Xiaomi to a blacklist

July 10, 2025

Xiaomi wasadded to a US blacklistearlier this year, with Washington claiming that the company’s ties to the Chinese military warranted its addition to the list. This move essentially prevents US investors from investing in Xiaomi, as opposed to the more aggressiveEntity Listwhich is wreaking havoc with HUAWEI.

The US didn’t dish out a reason for Xiaomi’s addition to the blacklist at the time, but a US Department of Defense legal filing spotted by theWall Street Journalmay have given us a reason. And oddly enough, the filing notes that an award given to Xiaomi co-founder and CEO Lei Jun is partly to blame.

Xiaomi Mi 11 hero shot

According to the outlet, Jun received the “Outstanding Builder of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” award from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2019. TheWall Street Journaladds that the award was given to 100 Chinese executives in 2019 and was mentioned on Xiaomi’s website.

The filing also reportedly points to Xiaomi’s investments in “advanced technologies” like 5G and AI as reasons to add it to the US blacklist.

Do you think Xiaomi should be blacklisted by the US?

Xiaomi didn’t comment on the matter when asked by the outlet, but it previously denied any links to the Chinese military when news of its blacklisting first broke.

“The company confirms that it is not owned, controlled, or affiliated with the Chinese military, and is not a ‘Communist Chinese Military Company’ defined under theNDAA,” it said at the time.

Do you think Xiaomi should be blacklisted by the US? Let us know by taking the poll above!

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