The Pentagon has added Alibaba, BYD, Baidu and dozens of other Chinese companies to its list of entities it says are linked to China’s military under Section 1260H of the National Defence Authorization Act. The companies include electric vehicle makers, artificial intelligence companies, battery manufacturers, biotech firms and solar suppliers. The designation can complicate companies’ access to U.S. capital markets and government business, although it does not automatically trigger sanctions. Among the most prominent additions were Alibaba, BYD, Nio, WuXi AppTec, Unitree, TP-Link, JA Solar and Trina Solar. The list also included battery makers CALB and EVE Energy, lidar firms Hesai and RoboSense, and display-panel manufacturer BOE Technology Group.
The Pentagon said the companies met statutory criteria for the designation based on factors including alleged affiliations with Chinese state entities, military-civil fusion programs, the People’s Liberation Army or government industrial initiatives. Several companies were cited for participation in programs such as China’s “Little Giant” or “Single Champion” schemes, which Washington increasingly views as supporting Beijing’s strategic technology ambitions. The move marks a significant expansion of a list that has evolved from focusing largely on state-owned defense and telecommunications groups to encompassing a much wider range of technology companies. The latest additions underscore growing U.S. concerns about China’s advances in sectors including AI, biotech, EVs, robotics, batteries, semiconductors and renewable energy.
One of the newly listed companies, WuXi AppTec, strongly disputed the designation and filed a complaint in the Washington federal court. It rejected allegations that it was affiliated with China’s military, defense industrial base or military-civil fusion programs. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said it “firmly opposes” Washington’s overstretched view of national security and use of “discriminatory lists”. The list now has 20 pages, but the U.S. also removed 10 companies, including Cosco Shipping Finance. The U.S. Defense Department said companies may seek reconsideration and submit evidence that they no longer meet the criteria for designation. Under the law, the Defence Department must update the list at least annually through 2030.
The Commerce Department also maintains an “Entity List”, and the U.S. Treasury Department has its OFAC Sanctions & NS-CMIC List. China responded with its own ‘Unreliable Entity List’ managed by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the South China Morning Post reports. Founded in 2000, WuXi said it provides research, development and manufacturing services to more than 4,000 pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, including more than 1,200 customers in the United States.
