Inclusion on the list does not imply automatic sanctions. However, US law prohibits the Department of Defense from contracting directly with designated companies
The United States added Chinese companies Alibaba, Baidu and BYD to the list of companies linked to the Chinese Army, less than a month after the summit between American and Chinese leaders, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
The annual update of the so-called “1260H” list, released on Monday by the Pentagon, also includes pharmaceutical company WuXi AppTec, robot manufacturers Unitree and RoboSense and semiconductor producers CXMT and YMTC, among other Chinese companies.
According to the US Department of Defense, the companies included meet the criteria defined by US legislation to be considered entities associated with the Chinese Armed Forces and carry out activities in US territory.
In the case of Alibaba and Baidu, the Pentagon pointed to alleged links with China’s State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Regarding BYD, he also cited the company’s presence in an area linked to the Chinese strategy of merging civil and military sectors.
Several of the companies contested the decision. WuXi AppTec called the inclusion “clearly wrong” and announced that it will take immediate action to contest the designation.
In a statement released today, the company stated that it is not controlled by Chinese military or government entities, that it does not provide services to the Chinese Army and that it does not participate in military-civil fusion programs.
Cited by the Chinese financial portal Yicai, Baidu considered the designation “completely unfounded” and assured that it will use all available means to request removal from the list.
Inclusion on the list does not imply automatic sanctions. However, US law prohibits the Department of Defense from contracting directly with designated companies and provides for the extension of these restrictions to indirect acquisitions from 2027.
Last year, Washington had already added Tencent and CATL to the same list, reflecting US authorities’ growing concern about the role of some of China’s biggest technology companies.
The measure comes less than a month after the summit held in Beijing between Trump and Xi, which temporarily eased trade and technological tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
