The United States has expanded its blacklist of Chinese companies supporting Beijing’s military, adding prominent commercial giants Alibaba, Baidu and BYD in a move that risks complicating efforts to ease tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The Pentagon’s updated list, released on Monday, designates the firms under rules aimed at curbing China’s military-civil fusion strategy, according to Al Jazeera.
The designation bars the companies and their subsidiaries from US defence contracts, with new rules set to take effect later this month. The list now includes 188 entities, up significantly from previous years.
Beijing hits out at ‘discriminatory’ move
China’s embassy in Washington strongly condemned the action, describing it as an overreach of national security concerns and discriminatory against Chinese firms operating abroad.
“Chinese companies that do business overseas have been strictly observing laws and regulations of their host countries,” an embassy spokesperson said. “The US should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.”
Alibaba rejected the designation, stating there was “no basis” for its inclusion and insisting it was not involved in any military-civil fusion activities. The e-commerce giant said it would pursue all available legal avenues to challenge the decision. BYD and Baidu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Concerns over trade detente
The move comes shortly after US President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for talks aimed at reducing friction in the prolonged trade and technology rivalry between the two powers.
Analysts have questioned the effectiveness of such broad sanctions. Dennis Wilder, a former CIA and White House official with expertise on China, described the blacklist as a “broad-brush” approach that may prove largely performative without full economic decoupling.
“Many US firms already have deep relationships with these entities that they are not going to give up unless there are real penalties attached,” he told Al Jazeera.
Republican lawmaker John Moolenaar welcomed the update, urging the delisting of affected companies from US exchanges and the removal of their products from American supply chains to protect national security.
The blacklisted firms dominate key sectors: Alibaba in e-commerce, Baidu in internet search, and BYD in electric vehicles. Their inclusion mirrors last year’s addition of Tencent, owner of the WeChat messaging app, and highlights growing US scrutiny of China’s leading commercial brands.
