The U.S. Department of Defense has added several major Chinese companies—including tech giant Alibaba, electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, and search engine Baidu—to a list of firms that the U.S. claims are linked to the Chinese military, according to the BBC.
The Defense Department’s list is intended to warn U.S. organizations about the risks of doing business with such companies. However, inclusion on the list does not mean that sanctions will be imposed immediately.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. told the BBC that the list is “discriminatory” and stated that Chinese companies strictly comply with laws abroad.
The list, known as Section 1260H, was published in the U.S. Federal Register on June 8. It includes some of China’s largest companies, which could further escalate tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The Pentagon’s list contains more than 80 “Chinese military companies” that are directly or indirectly involved in providing commercial services in the U.S.
Some of these companies directly compete with major American corporations in the electric vehicle and artificial intelligence sectors.
In particular, BYD, which does not export its cars to the U.S., surpassed Tesla earlier this year to become the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer.
According to Stephanie Kam, a public policy expert at Nanyang Technological University, Beijing is likely to view this move as a “form of economic containment.”
She said China could respond with mirror sanctions, adding U.S. companies to its own list, or other diplomatic measures.
According to the list, Alibaba, BYD, and the technology company Baidu—whose search engine ranks fourth in the global search engine market with a 1.06% share (Google accounts for 92.7%)— have been accused of acting as civil-military partners in Chinese defense programs.
It should be noted that in September 2025, the BYD brand officially entered the Moldovan market. Today, a major taxi service uses its vehicles. And given the Moldovan authorities’ penchant for supporting all manner of sanctions, it is possible that owners of these cars and electric vehicles may face problems with spare parts supplies in the future.
