Chinese, Russian tech to be barred from smart cars in US

The US finalized a rule on Jan 14 effectively barring Chinese technology from cars in the American market, taking aim at software and hardware from the world's second-biggest economy over national security risks.

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The announcement, which also pertains to Russian technology, comes as outgoing President Joe Biden wraps up efforts to step up curbs on China, and after a months-long regulatory process.

Beijing on Jan 15 said it "firmly opposes" a US move to effectively bar Chinese technology from smart cars in the American market, saying alleged risks to national security were "without any factual basis".

"Such actions disrupt economic and commercial cooperation between enterprises... and represent typical protectionism and economic coercion," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

He added: "China firmly opposes this."

The US rule follows an announcement in January that Washington is mulling over new restrictions to address risks posed by drones with tech from adversaries such as China and Russia.

"Cars today aren't just steel on wheels - they're computers," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

She noted that modern vehicles contain cameras, microphones, Global Positioning System tracking and other technologies connected to the internet.