Beijing has accused Washington of unwarranted suppression after it designated dozens of companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, as aiding the Chinese army

The US Department of War has added dozens of Chinese companies, including tech giant Alibaba, search engine Baidu, and electric vehicle maker BYD, to a blacklist of entities it claims are aiding Beijing's military.

China has condemned the move, accusing Washington of targeting Chinese businesses.

The Pentagon's so-called 1260H list, updated on Monday, includes 188 Chinese firms, up from around 130 last year. The list identifies companies that Washington claims are linked or contribute to the Chinese military under Beijing's "military-civil fusion" strategy.

The designation does not impose full sanctions, but bars listed firms from future US defense contracts and is widely seen as a warning to investors and American companies.

Direct Pentagon contracts with listed firms are set to be prohibited later this month, while restrictions on buying their products or services through third parties are due to take effect in 2027, Reuters reported.

Beijing condemned the decision on Tuesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying China "firmly opposes" the US "overstretching the concept of national security" and using "discriminatory lists" to target Chinese businesses.

"We urge the US to correct its wrongdoings, and stop the unwarranted suppression of Chinese businesses," Lin said, adding that China would take necessary measures to protect the "legitimate and lawful rights and interests" of its companies.

China has repeatedly accused the US of using national security claims to contain its economic rise and undermine its leading companies.

Several of the targeted firms have also rejected the designation. Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, said there was "no basis" for including it on the list, insisting it is "not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy."

Baidu called the accusation "entirely baseless," while BYD said it firmly opposed being labeled a military company and would use legal means to defend its interests.

The updated list comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing for talks aimed at managing tensions between the world's two largest economies. The summit produced no major breakthrough, but both sides agreed to continue dialogue and manage disputes over trade, technology, and security.

(RT.com)