U.S. Pentagon Blacklists 188 Chinese Firms Over Military Ties

The U.S. Department of Defense updated its Section 1260H list on June 8, 2026, designating 188 Chinese entities as military companies. The expansion, up from approximately 130 firms the previous year, includes high-profile tech giants Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent, as well as electric vehicle maker BYD and biotech firm WuXi AppTec. The Pentagon alleges these firms support the People's Liberation Army through affiliations with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology or the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Effective June 30, 2026, the Department of Defense is barred from entering or renewing direct contracts with these entities. A broader prohibition on purchasing their products or services via third parties will follow in June 2027. The list also includes Cirrus Aircraft due to its ownership by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

The Government of China and affected companies have condemned the move as discriminatory and baseless. China's Ministry of Commerce stated the action ignores a consensus reached during a May summit in Beijing between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping intended to stabilize bilateral relations. Beijing warned it would take resolute and forceful countermeasures to protect its enterprises.

Companies including Alibaba, Baidu, and WuXi AppTec have rejected the designations as errors and vowed to pursue all available legal actions to be removed from the list. Meanwhile, U.S. Representative John Moolenaar and the House Select Committee on the CCP have urged that these designated companies be delisted from U.S. stock exchanges to prevent China's military ascendance.