China ‘strongly dissatisfied’ with Pentagon move against top Chinese tech firms

BEIJING, June 13 (Reuters) – China is “strongly dissatisfied” with a U.S. move to add several major Chinese companies to a list of firms the Pentagon says are aiding the Chinese military, the commerce ministry said on Saturday.

The state department also expressed concern about an update to the US Department of Defense’s long-awaited list on Monday, which includes leading tech names such as e-commerce giant Alibaba, internet search provider Baidu and automakers BYD and NIO.

He later added the world’s largest solar panel manufacturers to the list: Trina Solar and JA Solar Technology.

The list includes a wide range of China’s leading technology firms that play key roles in advancing Beijing’s military and industrial power, reflecting Washington’s security concerns amid intense geopolitical competition between the countries.

“China is absolutely dissatisfied and strongly opposes this,” the commerce ministry said in a statement. he said. “China calls on the United States to immediately stop its wrongful practices, immediately withdraw relevant measures, and return to the right path of establishing a constructive, strategic and stable China-US relationship.”

The report stated that if Chinese companies are not treated fairly, Beijing “will inevitably retaliate decisively and forcefully.”

The Pentagon update replaces the early 2025 list and comes a month after President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Beijing and maintained a fragile trade-war truce.

In the ministry’s statement, it was stated that this move of the Pentagon “ignored the agreement” reached between the two leaders.

Under US law, the Department of Defense will be prohibited from contracting directly with companies on the list starting in 2027 and will be restricted from purchasing their products or services through third parties.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Greg Torode in Hong Kong 😉