The Pentagon added several major Chinese companies, including Alibaba (HKG:9988), Tencent (HKG:0700), BYD (HKG:1211, SHE:002594), CATL (SHE:300750, HKG:3750), Baidu (HKG:9888), and Nio (HKG:9866), to its list of "Chinese military companies," according to a notice published on Monday
The U.S. Department of Defense said the companies were designated under Section 1260H, which requires the agency to identify entities it deems linked to China's military or supporting military-civil fusion efforts.
The updated list also includes Huawei Technologies, DJI, Semiconductor Manufacturing International (HKG:0981, SHA:688981), China Mobile (HKG:0941, SHA:600941), China Telecom (HKG:0728), and China Unicom (HKG:0762), among others.
Also included on the list was WuXi AppTec (HKG:2359, SHA:603259), one of China's largest pharmaceutical research and manufacturing services providers.
The companies were included in a previous version of the list that was briefly posted in February before being withdrawn minutes later without explanation, Bloomberg News reported separately.
WuXi AppTec said separately in a statement that its inclusion on the list was "clearly a mistake" and that it would take immediate steps to challenge the designation.
The company said it does not meet the statutory criteria for a "Chinese military company" and is not owned, controlled by, or affiliated with any Chinese military or government entity.
While the designation carries limited immediate legal consequences, the Pentagon has increasingly used the list to restrict companies' access to U.S. military contracts and research funding, Bloomberg said.
A 1260H designation is also reportedly viewed as a warning to U.S. investors and can precede tougher trade or regulatory restrictions.