US says BYD, Baidu and Alibaba and other tech giants are aiding China’s military
The long-awaited update replaces the early 2025 list and comes less than a month after President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing, where the two leaders maintained a fragile trade war truce.
In February, while Trump’s trip to China was on hold, the Pentagon briefly released an updated list, known as the 1260H, or CMC list, but then quickly withdrew it with little explanation.
The new version released Monday mirrors the withdrawn February list, except for the inclusion of China’s leading memory chip makers CXMT and YMTC, which were excluded from the short-lived February index due to the anger of Washington’s China hawks.
Other companies added include biotechnology firm WuXi AppTec, AI-enabled robotics company RoboSense Technology Co Ltd, and leading Chinese humanoid and quadruped robot manufacturer Unitree. On June 1, US artificial intelligence chip maker Nvidia announced plans to work with Unitree to produce robots for researchers.
China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some companies were removed, including two entities owned by Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) – CNOOC China Ltd and CNOOC International Trading. However, CNOOC subsidiary China BlueChemical Limited was also added, and the ministerial dossier stated that CNOOC was directly controlled by the Chinese government. Companies can occasionally be removed from office not because the United States has determined they are not affiliated with the Chinese military, but because they no longer operate in the United States or because an organization’s name has changed.
Alibaba, Baidu, CXMT, YMTC, Unitree, CNOOC and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for WuXi AppTec told Reuters that the company’s inclusion in the list was “a clear mistake” and that it would take immediate action to “correct this erroneous description.”
The Pentagon stated in its filing, which is required at least annually under US law, that the companies on the list “qualify to be designated as Chinese military companies” and operate in the US. He added that companies can petition for removal.
The list now includes a broad swath of China’s leading technology companies that have played a key role in developing Beijing’s military and industrial prowess, and its publication could inflame tensions between rival countries locked in economic and geopolitical competition.
Although it has not officially sanctioned Chinese companies, the Department of Defense will be prohibited from contracting directly with companies on the list starting at the end of this month and from purchasing their products or services through third parties starting in 2027, according to recent US legislation.
These measures may have financial costs for Chinese companies and their partners.
Being added to the list also sends a potentially damaging message to Pentagon suppliers and other U.S. government agencies about the U.S. military’s views on the companies, some of which have sued the United States over their inclusion.
Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, said the release of the list served as a reality check on the escalating state of US-China rivalry after the Trump-Xi summit.
“Washington is no longer treating these as isolated companies. It’s treating the entire technology stack as if it were strategically contentious,” Singleton said.
