US adds 5 entities to PAIPA sanctions list and issues related general licenses

21 October 2026

The US has sanctioned 5 entities for being involved in trade secret theft in connection with Chinese national Linwei Ding, who was convicted of trade secret theft in the US in January 2026 – press release, fact sheet.

The designations are made under the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act (PAIPA) which authorises the President to impose sanctions against foreign people and entities who have engaged in, or benefitted from, significant theft of trade secrets against American people and entities. See our US legislation page for all US sanctions legislation.

The designated entities include:

• Qiji Chuangtan Beijing Investment Management Co Ltd (MiraclePlus), used by Mr. Ding to advertise his connection to Google and his ability to replicate its technology for Chinese purposes;

• Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co Ltd (Zhisuan), a China-based entity established by Mr. Ding in which MiraclePlus took an ownership stake;

• Beijing Qiji Chuangtan Phase II Venture Capital Center Limited Partnership, a China-based entity that is managed by MiraclePlus.

The US has also issued 2 related general licenses under PAIPA:

GL No.1 authorises transactions that are prohibited by PAIPA if they are authorised or exempt from sanctions under the Cyber-Related Sanctions Regulations.

GL No.2 authorises all transactions prohibited by PAIPA that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of any transaction involving any of the designated entities (or any entity in which one or more of the designated entities has a majority interest) until 19 January 2027.