Trump administration adds Alibaba, Baidu to China military list, then withdraws it

US briefly added Alibaba, Baidu and other Chinese firms to its 1260H list, which bars Pentagon contracts, before withdrawing the document.

• US briefly listed Alibaba, Baidu as aiding China's military
• Pentagon withdrew the list soon after its release
• Inclusion restricts US Defense contracts but imposes no sanctions

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The US added Chinese technology giants including Alibaba and Baidu to its 1260H list of companies deemed to be aiding China’s military, before the Pentagon withdrew the document shortly after its release, Reuters reported on Friday. The episode risked escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of an expected meeting between their leaders.

While inclusion on the 1260H list does not impose formal sanctions, a new US law bars the Department of Defense from entering into contracts, signing deals or procuring goods and services from companies named on it, Reuters said.

Automaker BYD, biotech firm WuXi AppTec and AI-driven robotics technology company RoboSense Technology Co Ltd. were also included in the list. Chip memory maker YMTC was removed, according to the report. COSCO SHIPPING Finance Co Ltd. and ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. were among companies removed from last year’s list.

An Alibaba spokesperson told Reuters the company was not a Chinese military entity nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy, adding there was no basis for its inclusion and threatening legal action.

The now-withdrawn list could have sparked friction not long after a trade truce was reached in October between China’s Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

Other Chinese majors including Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL remain part of the list. At the time of their inclusion, Tencent had said its business would not be impacted and that it would initiate a reconsideration process. CATL had said it was not engaged in military-related activities.

US lawmakers had sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December urging the addition of several Chinese technology firms to the Pentagon’s list, including AI company DeepSeek, smartphone maker Xiaomi and display manufacturer BOE Technology.