US accuses tech giant Alibaba, car maker BYD of aiding Chinese military

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 - The Pentagon has barred Chinese tech giant Alibaba, electric car maker BYD and search engine Baidu from getting U.S. defense contracts by adding them to its list of Chinese military companies operating in America.

The Defense Department on Monday published an updated list of non-state-owned Chinese companies that, while not in traditional defense or security sectors, are alleged to have ties with Beijing’s military.

Fifteen new companies were added to the list, which was created in 2021 by a congressional mandate that looks to identify Chinese companies considered to be a possible threat, as Beijing sometimes uses such firms for military purposes. 

In the case of Alibaba, the Pentagon asserts it is “a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base because it is affiliated with [China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)],” the overseer of China’s technology and industrial policies, according to the list. 

BYD and Baidu, meanwhile, both have affiliations with Beijing’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), and MIIT, making them both a “military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base.”

After the updated list was released, House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) called it “a warning to American businesses, all levels of government, and the American people.” 

“These Chinese companies are working with the Chinese military against our national interests,” he said in a statement. “Any of them that are publicly traded on U.S. exchanges should be immediately delisted and their products should be removed from supply chains our country depends on.”

Moolenaar added that American companies must stop doing business with the listed companies, “otherwise they are enabling China’s military ascendance.” 

The Chinese Embassy on Monday accused the U.S. of “overstretching the concept of national security and making discriminatory lists to go after Chinese companies,” as reported by The Associated Press.

“The U.S. should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies,” the embassy said in a statement.

Alibaba, BYD and Baidu all have denied that they are a military company or are working with the Chinese military. 

The updated Pentagon list identifies a total of 188 Chinese entities, up from nearly 130 last year. While they can still do business in the U.S., a company’s addition to the document could damage its reputation. 

Already on the list was Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), which makes batteries for Tesla, the electric car company owned by billionaire Elon Musk; Tencent, which owns several popular video games and tech platforms like messaging service WeChat; and drone companies Autel Robotics and DJI.

Autel Robotics and DJI have attracted intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill for national security concerns.