Pentagon Adds Alibaba, Baidu and BYD to Its Chinese Military List

The US Department of Defense added three of China's largest companies, the e-commerce and cloud group Alibaba, the search and AI company Baidu and the carmaker BYD, to its list of firms it says support the Chinese military, the South China Morning Post reported. Also added were the carmaker Nio, the drug maker WuXi AppTec and the robotics company Unitree.

The designation falls under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act, which directs the Pentagon to identify companies it links to China's military-industrial base. The label does not impose immediate sanctions, but restrictions on Defense Department contracting with listed firms take effect on June 30, and the designation can complicate the companies' access to US capital markets and business with American partners.

The move expands a contest between the world's two largest economies that has centered on advanced technology. By naming firms that are central to China's consumer internet, electric-vehicle and pharmaceutical sectors, Washington is indicating that it treats leading commercial companies and military capability as inseparable in the Chinese system, a view Beijing rejects.

The companies have previously contested similar designations, and some have challenged them in US courts. The affected firms and the Chinese government are likely to object that the listing is political and lacks evidence of direct military ties, while the practical effect, regardless of the dispute, is added difficulty for Chinese technology groups seeking American investors and customers.