Hikvision sanctions would escalate US-China 'tech war'

Significance

With revenues of over USD13bn last year, Hikvision is one of the leading producers of AI-enabled security cameras with facial recognition capabilities. The proposed new sanctions would fall under the Global Magnitsky Act, considered one of the harshest punitive measures Washington can impose in connection with human-rights violations.

Impacts

• Local governments outside China may need to 'rip and replace' existing Hikvision security cameras.
• Sanctioning Hikvision would make China even less likely to work with Washington on matters of global governance.
• The threat of sanctions on Hikvision and potentially other Chinese firms will encourage precautionary decoupling of supply chains.