China on Tuesday condemned a US decision to add several major Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Baidu, and electric vehicle maker BYD, to a Pentagon list of firms allegedly linked to the Chinese military, calling the move discriminatory and harmful to bilateral economic relations.
Responding to a question at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing “firmly opposes” the US action and urged Washington to stop using national security concerns as a pretext to suppress Chinese companies.
“The US side overstretches the concept of national security, discriminates against and suppresses Chinese companies, and violates the principles of market economy and fair competition,” Lin said, according to a transcript published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s official website.
Lin urged the US to “immediately correct its mistaken practices” and stop targeting Chinese enterprises, adding that China would take “necessary measures” to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its companies.
The remarks came a day after the US Department of Defense updated its so-called “Chinese Military Companies” list, adding a number of prominent Chinese firms, including Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, and NIO.
The designation does not impose immediate sanctions but bars the Pentagon from procuring goods and services from listed entities and could expose them to greater regulatory scrutiny.
Several of the affected companies have rejected the allegations, describing the designation as baseless and vowing to pursue legal remedies.
The Pentagon’s move marks the latest escalation in technology and security-related tensions between Washington and Beijing amid broader strategic competition between the world’s two largest economies.
