China Condemns US for Adding Alibaba, BYD, and Baidu to Military Blacklist

Diplomatic and economic relations between the world’s two largest powers have heated up once again. The Chinese government has issued a sharp condemnation of the United States after the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) included a number of Chinese technology giants, including Alibaba, BYD, and Baidu, on a list of companies deemed to be supporting the military of the Bamboo Curtain country. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian asserted that Washington’s move constitutes an abuse of the national security concept. According to him, the US deliberately created a discriminatory list to suppress the growth of Chinese businesses on the global stage. “China firmly opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security and formulating various types of discriminatory lists targeting Chinese businesses,” Lin Jian stated during a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday. The Pentagon’s updated list, released on Monday, showed a significant increase in the number of monitored entities. There are currently 188 companies on the “Chinese military companies” list, a sharp rise from 134 companies in 2025. The Pentagon defines these entities as companies that are owned, controlled by, or contribute to Beijing’s “military-civil fusion” strategy. The US considers this strategy a systematic effort by China to integrate civilian innovation into the development of their defence forces. The inclusion of these companies on the Pentagon list carries serious consequences. Starting from the end of June 2026, the US Department of Defense is prohibited from entering into direct contracts with these entities. This prohibition will be expanded in 2027, when the US will be barred from purchasing their products or services through third parties. Nevertheless, there is a mechanism for companies to apply for removal from the list. However, this process is often related to a company’s operational changes within the US or a change of entity name, rather than simply because the US considers them no longer linked to the military. This aggressive US move is considered surprising as it occurred less than a month after a high-level meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump in Beijing. The two-day meeting was initially hoped to ease tensions resulting from years of trade wars and technological rivalry. The Chinese government urged the US to immediately correct the policy. “We urge the US to correct its mistakes and stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese businesses. We will do what is necessary to protect their legitimate rights and interests,” concluded Lin Jian. Previously, other technology giants such as Tencent and drone maker DJI had already been placed on this blacklist in prior years, reinforcing the US position in limiting Chinese technological influence in strategic sectors.