The United States has added several of China’s most prominent companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba, electric vehicle manufacturer BYD and search engine operator Baidu, to a Pentagon list of entities it says are linked to or support China’s military, a move that could further strain relations between Washington and Beijing.
The updated list, released by the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday, expands the number of designated Chinese entities to 188, up from 134 last year.
The list was created in 2021 to identify companies the Pentagon believes are connected to China’s military or contribute to the country’s military-civil fusion strategy.
Under U.S. rules set to take effect later this month, firms on the list and entities they control will be barred from consideration for U.S. defense contracts.
The Pentagon said Alibaba, BYD and Baidu contribute to China’s defense industrial base through affiliations with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The updated designation also includes automaker NIO, memory chipmakers CXMT and YMTC, biotechnology company WuXi AppTec, robotics firms Unitree and RoboSense Technology, among other entities.
U.S. officials have increasingly expressed concern that Beijing leverages civilian companies, research institutions and advanced technologies to strengthen military capabilities.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party described the list as a warning to American businesses and government entities, arguing that companies named on the list should face greater scrutiny.
The expansion comes less than a month after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where both sides maintained a fragile truce in their broader trade and technology disputes.
China strongly criticized the decision, with its embassy in Washington calling the designation discriminatory and accusing the United States of overstretching the concept of national security.
The foreign ministry in Beijing urged Washington to reverse what it described as mistaken practices and create a fair environment for Chinese businesses operating internationally.
Several listed companies rejected the Pentagon’s conclusions.
Alibaba said there was “no basis” for its inclusion and denied any military connection.
Baidu described the designation as “entirely baseless” and said it would pursue available options to seek removal from the list.
BYD said it was not a military enterprise and would use administrative and legal measures to protect its interests.
While the list does not impose direct sanctions, analysts say inclusion can create reputational risks and may lead to additional restrictions for affected firms and their business partners.