By Jonathan Cheng

President Trump's intervention on behalf of TikTok is fueling hope for another Chinese technology company seeking to get itself out of the U.S. national security crosshairs.

Hesai Technology, a Shanghai-based maker of laser sensors for cars and trucks, has fallen under a cloud of suspicion in the U.S. that is familiar to many of China's emerging technology firms. The company, which builds lidar to help vehicles navigate and is the dominant supplier for the robotaxi industry, is seeking to get itself off a Pentagon blacklist for alleged ties to China's military.

"I don't want to say I'll be able to do exactly what TikTok does, but it's not of zero relevance, and it will be helpful for us to look at as a reference on how we can do business globally," David Li, Hesai's chief executive, said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Li, speaking Monday as Donald Trump took office in Washington, highlighted the many differences between his vehicle-sensor company and the popular social-media platform owned by Beijing-based Bytedance. Still, Li said he was encouraged by what he sees as the new administration's pragmatism and support for business.

"I expect, in the end, the U.S. to be pro-business and to be fair and to follow all the rules," he said.

The shares of other Chinese companies, which had been battered in recent months by national-security concerns, have risen amid hopes for a more favorable hearing from the Trump administration.

Hesai, founded in 2014, was an early player in the field of lidar. As of 2023, Hesai supplied about three-quarters of the U.S. robotaxi industry, according to research firm Yole Group, and is among the top suppliers for automakers building cars with driver-assistance features. The company says it shipped some 800,000 lidar systems last year and will top a million this year.

After listing on Nasdaq in early 2023, Hesai shares were pummeled after the Department of Defense added the company to a blacklist for alleged ties to China's military, prohibiting the Pentagon from buying its products.

Hesai has denied any such ties and sued the Pentagon in U.S. courts, seeking to overturn the blacklisting. The litigation is ongoing.

With a new administration in Washington, Li says he is open to a variety of arrangements, including ones in which Hesai sets up manufacturing or other facilities in the U.S.

"Clearly, this is what Trump wants," Li said, referring to past remarks by the president encouraging foreign companies to set up factories in the U.S.

Still, Li said there hasn't yet been a successful example that Hesai can model itself on.

"I don't see a clear precedent," he said. "I'm hopeful that this administration will try to come up with something like that for us to follow."

Heather Somerville contributed to this article.

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January 23, 2025 11:12 ET (16:12 GMT)

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