The U.S. Department of Commerce said on Thursday it had blacklisted China’s state-run oil company CNOOC for helping China intimidate neighbors in the South China Sea, threatening U.S. national security, in yet another move aimed at restricting market access for Chinese companies. CNOOC was added to the Entity List, a tool utilized by Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to restrict the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of items to persons reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. According to the Department of Commerce, “CNOOC has repeatedly harassed and threatened offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction in the South China Sea , with the goal of driving up the political risk for interested foreign partners, including Vietnam.” “CNOOC acts as a bully for the People’s […]