China’s surveillance industry plays down US blacklist at annual expo designed to showcase its technology

At one of China’s biggest public security expos this week it seemed like business as usual. Surveillance cameras of all sizes gazed down from nearly every booth inside the 110,000-square-metre exhibition area, feeding nearby display screens with information like the gender, estimated age and even emotional state of passers-by. Screens also played videos of models parading around with wearable cameras pinned to their outfits.

Groups of French, Spanish and Russian-speaking trade visitors listened to demonstrations and pitches from sales reps at various booths, accompanied by interpreters. Middle Eastern buyers, distinctive in their headgear and national dress, were also prominent among the visitors.

One thing that is not out in the open was the fact that some of China’s biggest names in video surveillance had earlier this month been blacklisted by Washington over alleged ties to human rights abuses in the country’s Xinjiang region.

The expo, which alternates each year between Shenzhen and Beijing, this year attracted a record number of buyers from over 150 countries and regions despite the cloud over the business from the imposition of sanctions that prevent the companies from buying American technology without approval.

The Trump administration added China’s two top surveillance camera providers, Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology, to Washington’s Entity List as well as its national champions in artificial intelligence – SenseTime, Megvii, Yitu and iFlyTek. China is the world’s biggest market for closed-circuit television cameras, access control and intruder detection productions.

The ban represented an escalation after Washington first named Hikvision and Dahua in the 2019 National Defence Authorisation Act, which bars federal agencies from purchasing surveillance cameras from both companies over concerns they pose a risk to national security.