U.S. adds Alibaba, Baidu, and BYD to expanded list of Chinese military-linked companies

Newly added to the list alongside the e-commerce group Alibaba, the search engine operator Baidu, and the electric-vehicle maker BYD are the biotech company WuXi AppTec, the robotics specialist RoboSense, and the robot manufacturer Unitree. Two memory chip manufacturers, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), were removed from the February version but have now been re-added, a move that drew attention because both firms are relevant to U.S. companies in the context of the memory crisis, and there have been reports that HP and Dell could qualify CXMT memory. Drone maker DJI, which has been on the list for some time, and router manufacturer TP-Link remain listed, and DJI drones may no longer be sold in the United States.

What the 1260H list actually does

Inclusion on the 1260H list has less drastic direct consequences than inclusion on the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List: 'Im Gegensatz zur sogenannten Entity List des US-Handelsministeriums hat eine Erwähnung auf der 1260H-Liste weniger drastische direkte Auswirkungen.' Doing business with listed companies is not prohibited, and the classification does not entail direct sanctions. The list does, however, serve as a warning to suppliers of the U.S. military and other government agencies, and a new law prohibits the Pentagon from concluding contracts with or procuring goods from the listed companies in the coming years. From June 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense may no longer enter into contracts with listed companies or their subsidiaries, and contractors of the Defense Department must in future ensure they do not maintain contracts with lobbyists working for listed companies.

Beijing reacted sharply. The Chinese embassy accused Washington of 'das Konzept der nationalen Sicherheit zu weit auszudehnen' and creating discriminatory lists to act against Chinese companies, and stated that 'Chinesische Unternehmen hielten sich an die Gesetze und Vorschriften der Länder, in denen sie geschäftlich tätig seien.' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that Beijing firmly rejects the 'ungerechtfertigte Unterdrückung chinesischer Unternehmen' and announced that China will 'die notwendigen Maßnahmen ergreifen, um die legitimen Rechte und Interessen chinesischer Unternehmen entschlossen zu schützen.' Lin Jian demanded that Washington 'seine fehlerhaften Praktiken korrigieren.'

Reactions from Beijing and from the companies named

Affected companies pushed back. Alibaba called its inclusion on the U.S. list a 'Fehler' and announced it would take legal action. Baidu rejected the classification as a supporter of the Chinese military as 'völlig unbegründet.' In the past, some Chinese companies had sued in court against their inclusion on the list, and a number of companies have already protested their inclusion on the 1260H list and announced legal action in some cases.

A warning shot before Xi's autumn visit

On Capitol Hill, Republican Representative John Moolenaar, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China, described the updated list as 'eine Warnung an amerikanische Unternehmen, alle Regierungsebenen und die amerikanische Bevölkerung' and called on U.S. companies to 'keine Geschäfte mehr mit diesen Bedrohungen für unsere nationale Sicherheit zu tätigen.' He warned that American companies risk 'Chinas militärischen Aufstieg zu begünstigen' if they continue doing business with the listed firms. The Select Committee on China, which takes a sharply critical stance toward Beijing, urged U.S. companies in a statement to end business relationships with listed companies.

The publication comes at a sensitive moment in U.S.–China relations. U.S. President Donald Trump began a renewed term in early 2025 and sparked a fierce trade war with China through special tariffs, with mutual import surcharges between the two countries rising to as much as 145 percent. In October, both sides agreed on a preliminary pause in the trade dispute, and in mid-May Trump traveled to Beijing for a state visit — the publication of the list occurs less than one month after that meeting. Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning a reciprocal state visit to Washington in the autumn, meaning the timing of the designation is likely to compound the U.S. designation of Chinese companies could lead to new disruptions in bilateral relations between the United States and China.