A normal view of the workplace constructing of Baidu is in Pudong, Shanghai, on Feb. 9, 2026.
Ying Tang | Nurphoto | Getty Photos
The Pentagon added a slew of Chinese language firms, together with Alibaba Group, Baidu Inc and carmaker BYD, to an inventory of entities it believes have aided the Chinese language army, complicating the delicate diplomatic relationship between Washington and Beijing.
The Protection Division printed an up to date “1260H checklist” Monday night stateside — a roster of firms the Pentagon considers affiliated with China’s army or protection industrial base.
The designations don’t impose sanctions explicitly, however imply the Protection Division can be prohibited from contracting straight with listed firms beginning later this month, and from procuring their services or products by third events starting in June 2027.
“These oblique restrictions might drive some U.S. corporations that work with the U.S. army to drop designated Chinese language corporations as suppliers,” mentioned Michael Hirson, head of China Analysis at 22V Analysis.
Baidu’s American depositary receipts dropped 2.1%, Alibaba slumped 0.8% and BYD slid 0.8%.
The additions come after President Donald Trump met Chinese language chief Xi Jinping in Beijing final month, the place the 2 leaders agreed to a commerce truce and introduced a joint funding and commerce board. The replace underscores a recurring stress within the bilateral relationship and safety issues in Washington over Chinese language expertise as a strategic menace.
The Pentagon briefly posted the same expanded checklist in February, then withdrew it with out rationalization as Trump’s China journey had been pending. The model launched Monday largely mirrors that February replace, however reinstates Chinese language reminiscence chipmakers CXMT and YMTC, which had been left off the withdrawn checklist — an omission that drew criticism from China hawks in Washington on the time.
Listed firms are deemed affiliated with China’s State-owned Belongings Supervision and Administration Fee, and designated as “military-civil fusion” contributors to China’s protection industrial base by ties to the Ministry of Trade and Data Expertise, in response to the Protection Division discover.
The checklist additionally provides biotech large WuXi AppTec, lidar maker RoboSense Expertise and Unitree — a number one Chinese language maker of humanoid robots. U.S. chipmaker Nvidia introduced final week its plans to work with the corporate to develop robots for analysis use.
The breadth of the additions displays Washington’s view that civilian expertise firms in China are inextricably linked to state army priorities, underscoring a priority that has pushed restrictions on China’s semiconductors, synthetic intelligence {hardware} and superior manufacturing from Washington.
Whereas the transfer is basically symbolic as they fall in need of an funding or export blacklist, it reveals how broadly Washington has drawn the road round delicate Chinese language expertise, spanning client electronics, biotech and robotics, mentioned Hirson.
Nonetheless, Hirson mentioned he didn’t count on the U.S. Treasury or Commerce so as to add distinguished Chinese language tech corporations to extra formal restrictions this yr, as Washington prioritizes holding the bilateral ties on steady footing.
WuXi AppTec, Alibaba and Baidu disputed the designation and pledged to hunt their elimination. BYD did not reply to requests for remark.
“There isn’t any foundation to conclude that Alibaba ought to be positioned on the Part 1260H Listing. Alibaba will not be a Chinese language army firm nor a part of any military-civil fusion technique. We’ll take all obtainable authorized motion in opposition to makes an attempt to misrepresent our firm,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement to CNBC.
Baidu additionally rejected the declare, saying that it will “not hesitate to make use of all choices obtainable to us to have the corporate faraway from the checklist.”
Some Chinese language firms have sued the Pentagon to contest the itemizing, with Xiaomi successful a courtroom problem that resulted in its elimination in Might 2021.
