WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Defense Department said on Monday it has added Chinese technology giants including Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL to a list of companies it says are collaborating with the Chinese military .
According to a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, the United States notably added Tencent, CATL, chip manufacturer Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT), Quectel Wireless and drone manufacturer Autel Robotics to the list. The updated so-called “1260H” list now includes 134 companies.
Quectel, a group spokesperson said, “does not work with the military in any country and will ask the Pentagon to reconsider its designation, which was clearly made in error.”
The other companies and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests or comment.
Members of the US Congress have been pressuring the Pentagon throughout 2024 to add some of these companies to the list, amid tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The designation does not result in an immediate ban, but may be a reputational blow to the affected companies and represents a warning to U.S. entities and companies about the risks of doing business with them.
It could also increase pressure on the Treasury Department to sanction affected companies.
Two companies already on the list, drone maker DJI and lidar maker Hesai Technologies, sued the Pentagon last year over their earlier designation, but they remain on the updated list.
The Pentagon also removed six companies from the list that it said no longer qualified for designation, including AI company Beijing Megvii Technology, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC), China State Construction Group and China Telecommunications Corporation.
(Reporting by Michael Martina, David Shepardson and Karen Freifeld; French version by Mara Vîlcu, edited by Kate Entringer)
