Xiaomi Wins Ban Reversal

Xiaomi and the U.S. government have come to an agreement to remove the Chinese smartphone giant from a blacklist of military-linked companies.

The U.S. Defense Department agreed in a final order to remove the «Communist Chinese Military Company» designation for Xiaomi, according to a court filing.

The Parties have agreed upon a path forward that would resolve this litigation without the need for contested briefing, according to the filing.

Negotiations over specific terms are underway and a separate joint proposal will be filed before May 20.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi sued the U.S. government over the bans, calling the designations «factually incorrect» with no evidence to back the claims.

In March, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras said Xiaomi was likely to win a reversal to declare the designation as illegal and issued a ban halt to prevent irreparable harm at the smartphone firm.

Still, the U.S. government said it remained concerned about investments into military-linked firms in China.

The Biden Administration is deeply concerned about potential U.S. investments in companies linked to the Chinese military and fully committed to keeping up the pressure on such companies, said White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne.

Xiaomi’s removal from the blacklist occurs less than one week after the Biden administration was reportedly maintaining pressure on China by preserving some restrictions issued by the Donald Trump administration with preliminary discussions underway about military-linked bans.