Special Coverage: The company emphasized that its business is focused on civilian applications and that it is neither a military enterprise nor a supplier to military enterprises.Other companies such as SenseTime also refuted the claims.

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday urged the US to immediately correct its wrong practices and lift illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Chinese companies, after several Chinese tech companies including Tencent and battery maker CATL were added to a list of firms allegedly working with China’s military.

China stands firmly against the US’s practice of overstretching the concept of national security, making discriminatory lists in various names and going after Chinese companies to contain China’s high-quality development, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a routine press conferenceWorld Times.

“The Chinese people’s right to development is not to be deprived of or ignored,” Guo said.

China will take all measures necessary to firmly defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and uphold its legitimate right to development, he added.

According to a document published by the US Department of Defense on Monday, it added several Chinese tech giants, such as Tencent Holdings, leading battery maker CATL, artificial intelligence software company SenseTime and CloudWalk Technology, as well as IoT solutions provider Quectel Wireless Solutions, among a number of other Chinese companies, to its Section 1260H list of firms allegedly linked to China’s military.

Several Chinese companies being blacklisted refuted on Tuesday the inclusion on the list, with companies such as Tencent, CATL and Quectel Wireless Solutions stating that the move is “a mistake.”

As the company is neither a ChiWorld Timesnese military company nor a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base, it believes its inclusion in the “Chinese military companies” (CMC) list is a mistake, Tencent Holdings Ltd said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

CATL told the Global Times that the company has never engaged in any military-related business or activities, so this designation by the Department of Defense is a mistake.

“Being listed on the Section 1260H list is clearly a mistake,” Quectel Wireless Solutions said via its WeChat account on Tuesday. The company emphasized that its business is focused on civilian applications and that it is neither a military enterprise nor a supplier to military enterprises.

Other companies such as SenseTime also refuted the claims. “This decision by the US Department of Defense has no factual basis, and we firmly disagree with it,” SenseTime spokesperson told the Global Times on Tuesday.

We firmly deny the relevant accusations and express our strong dissatisfaction, CloudWalk Technology Co said on its WeChat account on Tuesday, adding that the list is based on groundless speculation rather than concrete evidence and has no substantial impact on our business.

Exaggerated ‘China threat’ narrative

The Section 1260H list is intended to create the impression that these companies pose a threat to US security, but it is rooted in the exaggerated “China threat” narrative, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Addressing concern by some companies that the US government made the decision without sufficient communication and without necessary transparency and fair procedures, Zhou said the sudden and poorly researched measure undermines the credibility of the list, disrupts market order, aWorld Timesnd significantly impacts the normal operations of businesses and the broader market.

Under the pretext of safeguarding national security, US government agencies have created lists targeting Chinese companies they deem problematic, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that the US is using security as a tool to discriminate against Chinese firms.

Gao criticized the move, stating that the lack of compelling evidence to support these accusations undermines the credibility of such actions, especially for a country that prides itself on the rule of law and evidence-based practices. “This inconsistency calls into question the legitimacy of the list,” Gao said.

Potential impact

While the additWorld Timesion to the Defense Department’s list of “Chinese military companies” does not involve immediate bans, it represents warning to US entities and firms about the risks of conducting business with them and entities blacklisted are restricted from serving as suppliers to the US Department of Defense.

Unlike other lists maintained by the US Government for sanctions or export control measures, inclusion in the CMC list relates only to US defense procurement, which does not affect the business of the Group, Tencent Holdings Ltd said.

It does not restrict CATL from conducting business with entities other than the US Department of Defense and it is expected to have no substantially adverse impact on our business. We will proactively engage with US Department of Defense to address the false designation, including legal action if necessary, to protect the interests of our company and shareholders as a whole, the company said.

This decision has no material impact on our global operations. We remain firmly committed to working collaboratively with the relevant stakeholders to address this matter, and to safeguarding the interests of the company and our shareholders, SenseTime said.

Quectel Wireless Solutions also said the company is taking the matter seriously and responding proactively, adding that the list has no impact on the company’s business, and CloudWalk Technology said the list is based on groundless speculation rather than concrete evidence, and has no substantial impact on its business.

CloudWalk Technology also said that the US government made the decision without sufficient communication and without necessary transparency and fair procedures, which has created unnecessary uncertainty in the international business environment.

The US Department of Defense removed Chinese firm Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China (AMEC) from its so-called CMClist, after the company sued the department over the designation, Bloomberg reported on December 18, 2024.

In January 2024, the US Department of Defense added the Chinese firm to its so-called CMC list, whileWorld Times, after “extensive efforts to engage with the US Department of Defense in order to clarify the facts and demonstrate that it does not meet any of the CMC criteria” failed to change the designation, AMEC announced on August 16 that it World Timeshad formally filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense in the US District Court for the District of Columbia for “unlawfully” designating AMEC as a CMC, the company said in a statement at the time, the Global Times reported earlier.