Pentagon Adds Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, Unitree Robotics to 1260H Chinese Military Companies List

The U.S. Department of Defense added Alibaba, BYD, Unitree Robotics and other Chinese technology and industrial companies on Monday to its list of “Chinese military companies,” broadening Washington’s scrutiny of firms it deems to support Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy.

The Pentagon framed the more than 60 additions as part of the country’s push to build a “strong, secure and resilient industrial base,” and the list is known as the 1260H list.

Kharon

The designation was posted to the Federal Register and is under Section 1260H of the National Defence Authorisation Act, with the South China Morning Post saying it widens a blacklist targeting sectors central to US-China technological competition.

The updated roster brings the 1260H list’s total to 188 firms, according to the Kharon report, and the South China Morning Post said the designation can complicate companies’ access to US capital markets and government business.

The Pentagon said the companies met statutory criteria for designation based on factors including alleged affiliations with Chinese state entities, military-civil fusion programmes, the People’s Liberation Army or government industrial initiatives, according to the South China Morning Post.

David Shedd, a former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told The Brief that “The principal objective is to identify where Chinese firms may be seeking to embed themselves in the U.S. defense industrial base.”

The same Kharon report said the list’s more than 60 additions landed just weeks before its first restrictions are set to hit U.S. contractors’ supply chains, with direct restrictions beginning June 30 under the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

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The South China Morning Post reported that the Pentagon said the companies met statutory criteria for designation based on factors including alleged affiliations with Chinese state entities, military-civil fusion programmes, the People’s Liberation Army or government industrial initiatives.

It also said the designation can complicate companies’ access to US capital markets and government business, although it does not automatically trigger sanctions.

The Report.az account said the Pentagon cited direct or indirect affiliations with Chinese state entities including SASAC, MIIT, SASTIND, the PLA, the People’s Armed Police, or Chinese security and law-enforcement bodies.

Starting June 30, the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act will prohibit DOD from entering into or renewing contracts for goods or services directly with listed entities, and the same restrictions will apply to indirect goods or services starting a year from now, according to Kharon.

“The Pentagon added Alibaba Group Holding Ltd”

Report.az

Kharon also said the Pentagon framed the list’s expansion as part of the country’s push to build a “strong, secure and resilient industrial base,” and it described the list as a way to identify where Chinese firms may embed in the U.S. defense industrial base.

The South China Morning Post reported that the designation can complicate companies’ access to US capital markets and government business, although it does not automatically trigger sanctions.

TechCrunch said the expansion increases the chance that the Department of Defense could make it harder for U.S. companies to do business with these entities, and it noted that Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, and Unitree did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The South China Morning Post added that the designation can complicate companies’ access to US capital markets and government business, and it listed prominent additions including Alibaba, Baidu, BYD and Nio, alongside WuXi AppTec, Unitree, TP-Link, JA Solar and Trina Solar.