By Ismail Shakil, Kanishka Singh and Brenda Goh
OTTAWA, June 28 (Reuters)
Chinese surveillance technology company Hikvision is one of the largest manufacturers of surveillance equipment in the world. It has got quite a substantial market share. More recently, its association with the Chinese government has raised quite a bit of issues. Specifically surrounding global security concerns as well as ethical issues.
Some troublesome concerns
Quite a few things have rippled out from this situation. The most notable of these being government bans. The US government specifically has taken some drastic steps against Hikvision. This includes a ban that prohibited federal agencies from purchasing the products of the company so far back as 2018. The reasoning behind this was due to national security concerns as well as human rights violations.
The Canadian government has ordered Chinese surveillance camera manufacturer Hikvision 002415.SZ to cease operations in Canada over national security concerns, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said late on Friday. Hikvision, also known as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, has faced numerous sanctions and restrictions by Canada’s neighbor, the United States, over the past five and a half years for the firm’s dealings and the use of its equipment in China’s Xinjiang region, where rights groups have documented abuses against the Uyghur population and other Muslim communities.
“The government has determined that Hikvision Canada Inc’s continued operations in Canada would be injurious to Canada’s national security,” Joly said on X, adding that the decision was taken after a multi-step review of information provided by Canada’s security and intelligence community. Her statement did not mention China or Xinjiang or specify how Hikvision would harm Canada’s national security.
A mixed bunch of reactions to this
“We strongly disagree with this decision and view it with deep concern, as we believe it lacks a factual basis, procedural fairness, and transparency,” a Hikvision spokesperson told Reuters. “Instead of evaluating our technology on its cybersecurity merits, the decision appears to be driven by the parent company’s country of origin, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions and an unjustified bias against Chinese companies.”
The spokesperson said the company “urges the Canadian government to base its actions on facts rather than prejudice, and to uphold a fair, transparent environment for all businesses and investors.” China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company, which describes itself as the world’s biggest maker of video surveillance equipment, said last year it had exited contracts in Xinjiang through five subsidiaries that were added to a U.S. trade blacklist in 2023.
The US trade blacklist forms part of several lists maintained by the US government that can essentially be considered blacklists. In simple terms this just means it is a method to publicly identify individuals or entities that are either banned or restricted from conducting business in the US or with US entities.
Understanding all that is Xinjiang
The Chinese government has denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and has criticized or targeted companies for removing Xinjiang firms from their supply chains. Canada said last year it was reviewing an application to impose sanctions against Chinese surveillance equipment companies, including Hikvision, after rights advocates alleged the firms were aiding repression and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang.
Joly said Canada was also banning the purchase of Hikvision’s products in government departments and agencies and reviewing existing properties to ensure that legacy Hikvision products were not used in the future. She said the order does not extend to the company’s affiliate operations outside Canada but “strongly” encouraged Canadians “to take note of this decision and make their own decisions accordingly.”
The loss of the country’s support and sales infrastructure may very well further deter most of the buyers from purchasing the related Hikvision products. A further matter that may cause significant drop in overall trust and demand is the fact that this is labeled as a national security risk.