Customers wait in line at Xiaomi’s flagship store in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.
Miguel Candela | SOPA images | LightRocket | Getty Images
In response, Xiaomi filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury and defense departments in the Columbia court on Friday, according to its investor relations website on Sunday.
Xiaomi claimed that the Chinese military designation is “unconstitutional because it deprives Xiaomi of its freedom and property rights without due process” and therefore violates the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.
The Chinese company also said the ban on investors to buy shares will cause “irreparable damage.”
“ By shutting down Xiaomi from the US capital markets, the designation and related restrictions will harm the company’s ability to run, grow and finance business, sell its products, maintain and expand its business relationships and recruit and retain employees, ” the company’s lawsuit said.
Xiaomi shares rose 1.2% in Hong Kong trading at 11:46 am HK / SIN time.
The company also said it “is not owned or controlled by, or otherwise affiliated with, the Chinese government or the military, or owned or controlled by any entity affiliated with China’s defense industrial base.”
Xiaomi said a Chinese government or military entity does not have the ability to “exercise control over the management or business of the company.”
A target under the Trump administration, Huawei has also tried to use the US legal system to reverse Washington’s actions.
In March 2019, Huawei sued the US for a law prohibiting government agencies from purchasing the equipment from the Chinese technology giant. That lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge last year.