(Reuters) -A U.S. court on Friday ruled against China-based Hesai Group in the lidar manufacturer’s lawsuit against the U.S. government for adding it to a blacklist of companies allegedly working with Beijing’s military.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Defense Department’s finding that Hesai contributes “to the Chinese defense industrial base” is supported by substantial evidence reflecting lidar’s military application, national security concerns around Chinese lidar makers and Hesai’s cooperation with Chinese agencies.
Hesai, whose lidar sensors help self-driving cars and driver-assistance systems gain a three-dimensional map of the road, was added to the list early last year, along with over a dozen other companies.
The company challenged the designation and has said its has no connection “to the Chinese military or any other military body,” and its products are “strictly for commercial and civilian use.”
The court also said that an entity contributes “to the Chinese defense industrial base” if it produces a technology that has substantial military application, even if the product has commercial uses and is not directly supplied or used by the Chinese military.
The defense department and Hesai did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Abhirup Roy and Cynthia Osterman)
