Dahua distances itself from Xinjiang biometric surveillance by cancelling contracts

Biometric surveillance camera-maker Dahua has announced that it and its subsidiaries have cancelled contracts for five projects with local governments in China’s Xinjiang region, as Chinese surveillance companies adjust to shifting global market conditions.

The projects were all agreed to in 2016 and 2017, Reuters reports, and some had been cancelled while others were still operational when the company made the disclosure in a stock exchange filing.

Domestic surveillance contracts have not sustained China’s facial recognition surveillance unicorns, such as SenseTime, which reportedly saw a 58 percent reduction in revenue from smart city contracts in the first half of 2023. The company has since switched its focus away from FRT.

Allegations of repressions against Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, including biometric surveillance with ethnicity detection, have dogged Dahua and other Chinese companies, leading to Entity List sanctions in the U.S. and heavy criticism elsewhere.

The resulting pressure on international sales has allegedly led to shady practices by at least one Dahua distribution partner in the U.S.

Hikvision announced the cancellation of the same number of contracts in the same region earlier in December.

Dahua provided no explanation for why it was cancelling the Xinjiang contracts, but a report on the overseas ambitions of Chinese surveillance technology companies may provide a clue.

Latin American ambitions

A facial recognition system recently deployed in Brazil by São Paulo Military Police with Corsight technology uses Dahua cameras. According to Diálogo Américas, Chinese companies are targeting Latin America as a market for their surveillance and facial recognition technologies, along with other AI applications.

Diálogo Américas draws on a report by Peru’s CEEEP (Army Center for Strategic Studies), which in turn cites a white paper in which China says it wants to work with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on security issues.

UN stats show that 8 of the 10 countries in the world with the highest murder rates are in Latin America, which the article suggests provides an ideal market for testing surveillance equipment. Supplying facial recognition and surveillance technology also extends China’s influence, as governments dependent on the tech it provides for crime reduction or to retain authoritarian control are more likely to side with it in international disputes.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  China  |  Dahua Technology  |  facial recognition  |  Latin America