Alibaba is suing to be removed from the list. Photo: Reuters
Alibaba Sues Pentagon Over Blacklisting
Chinese tech giant Alibaba has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense after the Pentagon blacklisted the company from Chinese companies it believes are helping China’s state military. Alibaba described the listing as “arbitrary” to the French news agency AFP.
24 June 2026, 14.08
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Alibaba filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Jose seeking delisting. According to the documents summarized by AFP, they believe, among other things, that there is no legal basis for the Pentagon’s decision. “Alibaba is not a Chinese military company, nor is it part of any strategy of combining military and civilian activities,” the Chinese company explained to AFP.
An Alibaba spokesperson called the decision to blacklist the company “arbitrary.” The updated list, released by the Pentagon earlier this month, includes 80 companies and their affiliates and is largely similar to the version released in February. The companies also include Chinese AI tech giants including Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, as well as Chinese memory chip makers ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies.
As of June 30, the Pentagon is not allowed to enter into new contracts with companies on the list or their subsidiaries. The listing also limits the ability of these companies to hire lobbying firms in the United States, AFP reports.
In response, Beijing earlier this month voiced its “strong opposition” to the publication of a blacklist of Chinese companies by the US. At a press conference at the time, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian urged Washington to correct wrong practices. He announced that Beijing would “take the necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”.
