The United States has added Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, internet search provider Baidu, and automaker BYD to a list of companies it believes are assisting Beijing's military, a move that may heighten tensions between the two nations.
Updated List Reflects Growing Concerns
The long-awaited update, released on Monday, replaces an earlier list from early 2025 and comes less than a month after former President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. During that visit, the two leaders maintained a fragile truce in their ongoing trade war. The revised list now includes a broad range of China's top technology firms that are crucial to advancing Beijing's military and industrial capabilities, reflecting Washington's security concerns amid intense geopolitical competition.
In February, when Trump's trip to China was pending, the Pentagon briefly posted an updated list, known as the 1260H or CMC list, but quickly withdrew it with little explanation. The new version released on Monday mirrors the withdrawn February list, with the exception of the inclusion of China's leading memory chipmakers CXMT and YMTC, which had been removed from the short-lived February index.
New Additions and Reactions
Other companies added to the list include biotech firm WuXi AppTec, AI-driven robotics company RoboSense Technology Co Ltd, and Unitree, a leading Chinese manufacturer of humanoid and quadruped robots. On June 1, US AI chipmaker Nvidia announced plans to collaborate with Unitree to build robots for researchers.
Alibaba responded in a statement, saying there was "no basis" for its inclusion. "Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy. We will take all available legal action against attempts to misrepresent our company," the statement read. Baidu "categorically" rejected its inclusion, stating that "the suggestion that Baidu is a military company is entirely baseless. We will not hesitate to use all options available to us to have the company removed from the list." WuXi AppTec said its inclusion was "incorrect" and that it would "take immediate actions to challenge and correct this erroneous designation." BYD, CXMT, YMTC, RoboSense, Unitree, BOE Technology Group, Tianma Microelectronics, and TP-Link Technologies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China's Response and Implications
China's embassy in Washington stated that Beijing opposes "making discriminatory lists to go after Chinese companies" and emphasized that its firms observe local laws and regulations. "The U.S. should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies," an embassy spokesperson said.
Some companies were removed from the list, including two entities owned by Chinese state-owned oil major CNOOC: CNOOC China Ltd and CNOOC International Trading. However, CNOOC subsidiary China BlueChemical Limited was added, and the filing noted that CNOOC is directly controlled by China's government. Companies can sometimes be removed not because the US determines they are not linked to China's military, but because they no longer operate in the US or due to name changes.
The Pentagon stated that the listed firms "qualify for designation as 'Chinese military companies'" and operate in the US. The filing, required at least annually under US law, allows companies to petition for removal. House of Representatives China select committee chair John Moolenaar said the updated list "is a warning to American businesses, all levels of government, and the American people. These Chinese companies are working with the Chinese military against our national interests."
Although the listing does not formally impose sanctions, under recent US law, the defense department will be prohibited from contracting directly with companies on the list starting later this month, and from buying their products or services via third parties beginning in 2027.
