The logo of Hesai Technology Co is seen at the 2022 World Robot Conference in Beijing on August, 21, 2022. Photo: VCG

Chinese lidar manufacturer Hesai Technology Co said on Thursday that it will continue the legal process against the US Department of Defense (DOD) after being re-added to the "Chinese Military Companies" (CMC) blacklist.

In a statement sent to the Global Times on Thursday, Hesai Technology stated that it was disappointed by the US DOD's decision to reinstate the company on its blacklist and will continue legal action.

"We are glad to see that the US DOD removed Hesai from the 1260H list, recognizing and correcting its erroneous decision that was made in January. However, we are disappointed by its ongoing efforts to relist us on a different basis," the company said.

"Hesai has always maintained that we were wrongly added to the 1260H list as our products are strictly for commercial and civilian use, and we have no connection to the Chinese military or any other military body. We will continue the legal process to correct these mistakes," said the company.

Hesai is known for its leading radar products, which are primarily used in advanced driver-assistance systems for both passenger and commercial vehicles. It was included on the list by the US Department of Defense in January, along with more than a dozen other Chinese companies including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.

The company initiated legal action against the Pentagon in May, and in August, the Pentagon decided to remove Hesai from its blacklist of Chinese military-affiliated companies after determining that the laser sensor manufacturer did not meet the legal criteria for inclusion, according to sources cited by the Financial Times.

Lidar - light detection and ranging - is an active remote-sensing system that can be used to measure vegetation height across wide areas.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Thursday that the decisions made by US politicians were irrational and reckless. 

"They disregard commercial interests and contradict business logic, creating numerous trade barriers that disrupt global supply chains and undermine the global trade cooperation system," he said.

The global value chain is central to the economic and trade relationship between China and the US. Effective allocation of global resources and supply chain cooperation is essential for the growth of the US economy. US policymakers should halt these anti-business measures, or they will face pushback from the US business community, Li said.

Hesai Technology is not the only Chinese enterprise that recently decided to sue the US DOD. On October 18, Chinese dronemaker DJI filed a lawsuit against the US DOD, challenging its inclusion on the CMC blacklist and seeking to be removed from the list.

On October 8, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held a telephone conversation with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. 

Wang stressed that it is necessary to clarify the national security boundaries in the economic and trade field, as it is conducive to maintaining the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and creating a favorable policy environment for cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.

"China urges the US side to pay attention to the specific concerns of Chinese enterprises, promptly lift sanctions on Chinese companies, and improve the business environment for Chinese companies in the US," Wang said.