Pentagon reports that Alibaba, Baidu, BYD and other Chinese firms are supporting China’s military efforts.

The United States released an updated list on Monday of Chinese companies it believes are assisting China’s military. The list includes e‑commerce giant Alibaba, search engine provider Baidu, and electric‑vehicle maker BYD.

The Defense Department published the designations shortly after President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, a meeting that aimed to preserve stability in the bilateral relationship. Trump has since invited Xi to visit Washington in September.

The new release could raise tensions between the world’s two largest economies. It follows a brief earlier version that was issued and then withdrawn without explanation.

The current list is largely the same as the one published in February, but two memory‑chip manufacturers were reinstated after having been removed. The companies added back are ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies.

“This updated list of Chinese military companies is a warning to American businesses, all levels of government, and the American people,” said Representative John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China. He urged U.S. companies to “stop doing business with these threats to our national security” or risk “enabling China’s military ascendance.”

The list also names several of China’s leading artificial‑intelligence firms, including Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent. Tencent had already been designated earlier.

Baidu rejected the designation in a statement posted on Chinese social media, calling the accusations “entirely baseless.” A spokesperson said, “We categorically reject the inclusion of Baidu on the list, and there is no credible justification for adding Baidu to the list. 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.”

Alibaba described its inclusion as “a mistake” and threatened legal action. The company said, “There is no basis to conclude that Alibaba Group should be placed on the CMC List. Alibaba Group is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military‑civil fusion strategy.”

While the designations may not have immediate legal consequences for many of the companies, they could precede further punitive measures.

Other firms added to the list include pharmaceutical company WuXi AppTec and robotics start‑up Unitree, which produces humanoid robots.

AFP

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