WASHINGTON – The Biden administration said Thursday it imposed trade restrictions on more than 30 Chinese research institutes and entities over human rights violations and the alleged development of technologies, such as brain-control weapons, that undermine U.S. national security.

According to the Commerce Department, China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences (China) and eleven of its research institutions were accused of using biotechnology to “support Chinese military end use and users,” a notice in the Federal Register.

This notice doesn’t provide any further information about the brain-control weapons.

The scientific pursuit of medical and biotechnology innovation could save many lives. “Unfortunately, the PRC chooses to use these technologies in order to pursue control over their people and its repression of members of ethnic and religious minorities groups,” Gina Raimondo (US Secretary of Commerce) wrote. This statement was in reference to China’s People’s Republic of China.

The State Department has previously described the abuse of Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities asIn the Xinjiang area, “widespread state-sponsored forced labour” and “mass arrest.”

The White House had announced earlier in the month that it would boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. They cited the “ongoing genocide in Xinjiang, as well as other human rights violations,”

Beijing claims it did not abuse religious or ethnic minorities within Xinjiang.

For their part in modernizing China’s army, the Commerce Department added four Chinese corporations to its Entity list. These actions were against U.S. interests and national security.

In addition to the five Chinese-owned companies, the department added another five for the alleged “acquisition or attempted acquisition of technology from America to modernize People’s Liberation Army.”

U.S. officials complain that Chinese intellectual theft has caused the loss of billions in revenues and thousands of job opportunities. They have also said that it threatens national security. Beijing insists it doesn’t engage in intellectual theft.

CNBC did not receive a response from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Additionally, the Commerce Department took legal action against two entities located in Turkey, Malaysia, and Georgia for “diverting” or trying to divert U.S. goods to Iran’s military program.

According to the notice, “These entities constitute a component of a network that supplies Iran or attempts to provide Iran with U.S.-origin goods, which would ultimately support Iran’s defence industries in violation of U.S. Export Controls.”

The Commerce Department took total action against 34 entities located in China, Georgia, Malaysia, Turkey, and Georgia.