A federal judge has overturned the U.S. investment ban on Xiaomi Corp., calling for the decision to make a big list of China’s technology giant.
Ordering a temporary halt to the ban in a decision late Friday, Judge Rudolph Contreras questioned the Pentagon’s decision in January to name Xiaomi XIACY,
1810,
as a company with ties to the Chinese military. Judge Contreras said the U.S. has not conclusively shown such links to appear in advance films with the court.
“Xiaomi is a public commercial company that produces commercial products for civilian use, under the control of its independent boards and under the control of shareholders, and has no effective control or connection with those other owned or controlled by PRC or its security services, ”the judge said in his opinion, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China.
Xiaomi said it was happy with the judge’s ruling and said it would seek the permanent removal of the investment ban. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The decision marks a victory for Xiaomi after it was added, in the weak days of the Trump administration, to a list of U.S. Department of Defense companies they believed were linked to Chinese weapons.
The decision barred Americans from investing in the company, the world’s third-largest retailer of smartphones. The designation surprised many company viewers, as the company’s heavy focus was on consumer electronics. The company, which denies any military ties, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, seeking to overturn the designation.
The decision is another courtroom solution in the Trump administration’s campaign against China’s tech sector. Last year, two federal judges issued temporary stops to block the U.S. download of China’s social media app TikTok, saying the U.S. had surrendered its authority.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com