Washington is looking to blacklist Chinese video surveillance technology company Hikvision and curb its ability to purchase U.S. technology, after implementing and scaling back similar restrictions against Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

When executed, the move will reportedly escalate existing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and will be the first U.S. response against a company involved in the surveillance and mass detention of the Uighur ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region of China.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is likely to make it mandatory for American companies to seek prior approval before supplying components to Hikvision to prevent national security threats, and a firm decision is expected in the coming weeks, the report said.

Hikvision has more than 34,000 global staff. The company's portfolio comprises traffic cameras, thermal cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles among others.

Members of U.S. Congress had earlier sought sanctions against companies aiding the victimization of minorities in China, including Hikvision and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd.

In January, Jyan Hong-wei, director general of the cybersecurity department of Taiwan's executive branch, said a blacklist of Chinese tech companies that present security threats was being drafted, with restrictions applying to all government departments, organizations and state-controlled enterprises.