In the United States, eight Chinese companies have been placed on a no-fly list for national security reasons.

The US government reportedly put many Chinese enterprises on its trade blacklist on Wednesday, escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington. According to Reuters, the US alleged that these companies were assisting in the development of the Chinese military's quantum computing initiatives.

Eight Chinese technology businesses have been put on the 'Entity list,' allegedly for supporting the Chinese military as well as acquiring or seeking to buy "US-origin items in support of military applications."

The new listings, according to US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, will help prevent the country's technology from being used to support Chinese and Russian "military advancement and non-proliferation concern activities," such as Pakistan's "unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile programme."

China's embassy in Washington "firmly" rejected the action, with spokesman Liu Pengyu claiming that the US utilises a "catch-all concept of national security" and "abuses" its power to silence and restrain "Chinese enterprises in all possible means."

He added that the US needs to meet China "halfway instead of going further down the wrong path," the Reuters report revealed.

This development occurs at a time when the two countries are at odds over Taiwan's status and trade difficulties. During their recent virtual encounter, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping addressed trade, among other things.

Meanwhile, the eight Chinese businesses that have been blacklisted by the US are not the only ones. A total of 27 additional organisations have been added to the list, which includes Pakistan, Japan, and Singapore in addition to China.

Names of Chinese firms blacklisted:

1. Hangzhou Zhongke Microelectronics Co Ltd

2. New H3C Semiconductor Technologies Co Ltd

3. Xi'an Aerospace Huaxun Technology

4. Hunan Goke Microelectronics

5. Yunchip Microelectronics

6. Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale

7. QuantumCTek

8. Shanghai QuantumCTeck Co Ltd

According to Reuters, the US Commerce Department's decision to place China on the blacklist was made to prevent the Chinese military from developing counter-stealth technology, which might include sophisticated radars and possibly counter-submarine applications such as undersea sensors.

Suppliers to the companies on the US entity list will need a licence to sell their wares, which will almost certainly be refused.

Since former President Donald Trump's administration, the US has been progressively and repeatedly using its 'Entity list' to blacklist corporations for the purposes of foreign policy and national security. Huawei, a Chinese telecom corporation, was added to the list in 2019, effectively cutting them off from critical suppliers, making handset production difficult.