People's Daily: China and the U.S. Should Extend the "Cooperation List" Rather Than the "Coverage List"
N.R. Finch
People's Daily hit back at the FCC's move to add Chinese-made power inverters and advanced robots to its "covered list," calling it systematic tech suppression and warning of "resolute countermeasures" — friction over clean energy and smart manufacturing is heating up.
What did the FCC just add to the list?
The FCC placed foreign-made power inverters and advanced robotic equipment on its "covered list" — a roster of foreign devices restricted from use in US networks.
This means → controls have expanded beyond telecom and surveillance gear into clean energy and smart manufacturing, a significantly wider strike zone.
People's Daily labeled the move "a typical act of unilateral bullying" and demanded immediate reversal.
How has this list grown over time?
2021: telecom and video-surveillance equipment from five Chinese firms was listed.
Drones and routers followed; in April this year, the FCC passed a rule to strip testing-lab credentials from countries without a mutual-recognition agreement with the US.
In plain terms = the list started with telecom gear, crept into drones and routers, and now reaches solar inverters and robots — each round casts a wider net.
Why does Beijing say this contradicts the diplomatic direction?
The commentary cited the new framing agreed by both leaders in May — a "constructive and stable strategic relationship" — insisting all levels and sectors should move in step.
This means → Beijing reads the FCC's action as running directly against the summit consensus — talking cooperation at the top while tightening restrictions at the agency level.
The article's core line: "What both sides should be lengthening is a 'cooperation list' of mutual benefit, not a so-called 'covered list' of artificial restrictions."
How hard is Beijing's warning?
The article stated explicitly: "If the US insists on going its own way, China will take resolute countermeasures."
It also warned of blowback from decoupling: forced supply-chain breaks will not stop Chinese industrial upgrading but will push global supply chains to diversify faster, "ultimately eroding America's own economic vitality and technological competitiveness."
This reflects Beijing framing the FCC action as systematic tech suppression, not an isolated security review — whether friction in clean-energy equipment and smart manufacturing escalates further is the key policy signal to watch.
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