US Pentagon adds Alibaba, Baidu and BYD to Chinese military list

On June 8, the U.S. Department of Defense released an updated version of its “list 1260H,” designating Chinese companies it believes support the People’s Liberation Army. The list now includes e‑commerce giant Alibaba, search engine provider Baidu, electric‑vehicle maker BYD, and chip‑memory firms ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, among others.

Although the designation does not impose direct sanctions, the Pentagon will be barred from contracting with the listed firms directly after the end of the month and from acquiring their products through third parties until 2027. U.S. officials warned that American defense contractors must avoid doing business with these entities, citing national‑security concerns. The move follows a brief period of diplomatic outreach between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping and is expected to deepen existing tensions between Washington and Beijing, potentially impacting supply‑chain relationships and investment sentiment for the affected Chinese companies.