WASHINGTON D.C. – In a move that escalates bilateral economic and diplomatic tension between the United States and China, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday it has added three of China’s highest-profile civilian-led corporations — e-commerce and technology giant Alibaba, global electric vehicle leader BYD, and top search engine operator Baidu — to its official register of Chinese military-linked companies. The designation bars these firms from accessing any U.S. federal defense contracts.
The updated publication of the list marks a notable shift in U.S. policy: for the first time, it explicitly targets large, publicly traded, non-state-owned Chinese enterprises that do not operate primarily in the defense or national security sectors. This expansion reflects deepening U.S. skepticism over what Pentagon officials describe as Beijing’s long-term strategy of integrating civilian commercial innovation into China’s military and defense industrial supply chain.
Established by congressional mandate in 2021, the list was created to identify any Chinese entity the Pentagon assesses has ties to China’s military apparatus. This scope extends beyond firms directly owned and operated by the Chinese military and security services to include any company that contributes to the development, expansion, or supply of China’s domestic defense industry. In last year’s update, Pentagon officials emphasized that the People’s Liberation Army actively pursues advanced technology and technical expertise developed by seemingly civilian Chinese companies, academic institutions, and research initiatives, framing this as a core national security concern for the U.S.
Monday’s expansion has grown the total number of listed Chinese entities to 188, up from roughly 130 entities included in last year’s iteration. Major consumer drone manufacturer DJI was already added to the register in a previous update. While companies on the list are not outright barred from all commercial activity within U.S. borders, they face significant indirect costs: widespread reputational damage among Western investors and partners, and they become eligible for additional restrictive measures that can be imposed by U.S. regulators in the future.
In its justification for adding Alibaba, a New York Stock Exchange-listed firm, the Pentagon claimed the technology conglomerate is affiliated with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and that this connection allows it to contribute to the growth of China’s defense industrial base. Both BYD and Baidu were added under the same rationale of institutional affiliation with the Chinese ministry, which oversees China’s national technology and industrial development policy.
BYD’s inclusion marks a striking reversal from earlier this year, when former U.S. President and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump stated he would welcome Chinese EV makers including BYD to the U.S. market, provided they construct domestic manufacturing facilities and hire American workers. Despite that opening, a growing bloc of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers has already pushed forward legislation that would implement a full ban on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles in the U.S.
Another notable addition to the 2024 update is Unitree Robotics, a Chinese consumer robotics firm that gained global viral fame after its dancing robot contestants earned widespread praise from judge Simon Cowell during a 2023 appearance on NBC’s *America’s Got Talent*. According to the Pentagon, Unitree “knowingly received assistance” from the Chinese government through a national support program for small- to medium-sized enterprises deemed highly innovative, globally competitive, and critical to China’s domestic supply chains.
As of Monday evening, none of the four newly added firms — Alibaba, BYD, Baidu, or Unitree — had issued public statements or responded to press inquiries sent by reporters seeking comment.
In an official statement released hours after the Pentagon published the updated list, the Chinese Embassy in Washington issued a sharp rebuke of the U.S. action. The embassy accused the U.S. of “overstretching the concept of national security” and using discriminatory, arbitrary blacklists to target legitimate Chinese commercial enterprises. The statement emphasized that all Chinese companies operating globally comply with the laws and regulations of the host countries where they conduct business, and called on the U.S. to immediately end what it labeled a wrongful practice. “The U.S. should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies,” the statement concluded.