U.S. blacklist on China is riddled with errors and outdated details

Land at an address identified on the U.S. entity list, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, on Oct. 31, 2024. | REUTERS

BY JAMES POMFRET AND DAVID KIRTON
May 6, 2025

HONG KONG -- Doris Au, a seller of door locks and hardware in Hong Kong for 25 years, received a letter from her bank, DBS Group, last June stating that her business account would be closed. The bank gave little explanation but subsequently froze the account, killing her business with international suppliers, she said.

Au discovered after searching online that another firm with a similar name was added to the U.S. trade blacklist in October 2023 for "providing support to Russia's military and/or defense industrial base." The entry identified two addresses, one of which was Au's warehouse.

"We are not that company. It's totally a mistake," Au said in her warehouse stacked with locks, hinges and sliding-door kits from well-known brands.