Pentagon publishes, then withdraws, new list of Chinese military companies

The Pentagon on Friday published an expanded list of Chinese military companies linked to the People’s Liberation Army and operating in the U.S., including those linked to Beijing’s civilian-military fusion program.

However, shortly after the list was published in the Federal Register, it was pulled from publication for unspecified reasons by a Pentagon official.

The temporarily published list of Chinese military companies, required under a 2021 defense policy law, included two of China’s largest tech companies — Alibaba and Baidu. The designation is called the 1260H listing for the section of the law.

The withdrawn list included 154 Chinese companies and their subsidiaries declared to be military-related companies operating in the U.S., including 12 that were removed from the list.

The companies were listed by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg based on their links to Chinese ministry and direct or indirect affiliations with the PLA and operating as part of the military-civil fusion program.

By contrast, the list of military companies made public in January 2025 included 134 companies and subsidiaries, including six that were removed from the list.

The new list included brief explanations for the ties to the military or intelligence services.

The new list kept Huawei Technologies, the major telecommunications company that has sold equipment with the potential for electronic spying to American utilities.

Also remaining on the list is the major Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) and 12 subsidiaries. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd., the China COSCO Shipping Corp. and several major weapons manufacturers are included as well.

The designation does not impose sanctions but is expected to prevent the Pentagon from contracting or procuring from the military companies in the future.

Also added since the last list in January 2025 were the Chinese automaker BYD, biotech firm WuXi AppTec and the artificial intelligence robotics company RoboSense Technology Co Ltd.

The list withdrawal followed a letter from Michael Kremlacek, acting director of the Pentagon’s privacy, civil liberties and transparency directorate.

No reason was given in the letter.

Pentagon and White House officials did not respond to requests for comment on why the list was withdrawn after it was posted for about an hour.

However, Reuters reported that the new list removed two of China’s top microchip manufacturers, ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., a move that drew criticism from China experts who oppose loosening restrictions on Chinese tech companies over concerns their products will assist the PLA.

The Trump administration has sought to avoid upsetting the ruling Chinese Communist Party following a meeting in October between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two leaders reached a temporary truce in the trade war and hope to conclude an agreement on tariffs and other topics this year.

Mr. Trump has avoided criticism of China since the meeting and has said repeatedly he has a very good relationship with Mr. Xi, who he hopes to meet in Beijing in April.

As part of more conciliatory U.S. policies toward Beijing, the administration loosened export controls on advanced Nvidia AI microchips and put off a rule that would have blocked thousands of Chinese companies from purchasing U.S. technology.

The administration this week delayed implementing several national security initiatives targeting Beijing, Reuters reported. They include putting off a ban on China Telecom engaging in U.S. operations and delaying restrictions on sales of Chinese equipment for U.S. data centers.

Some of the Chinese companies on the list have sued over the designation, asserting they are not military firms.

However, U.S. officials have disclosed that China employs a policy called civil-military fusion that closely aligns all commercial high-technology with the PLA.

“Releasing the list weeks before a leader-level summit shows deliberate compartmentalization: stabilizing trade talks while sustaining pressure in national security lanes,” said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“Beijing may protest loudly, but it also has to weigh whether escalation now risks undermining a summit it wants to succeed,” he said before the list was withdrawn.

Mr. Singleton said the posted list makes clear how Beijing systematically hides the line between commerce and its military mission, tasking firms to support the PLA.

With a U.S.-China summit expected in April, both countries are probing for leverage while signaling resolve, he said.

“The real risk isn’t a single dramatic rupture; it’s whether both sides can keep today’s tactical truce from collapsing under the weight of normal competition layered across technology, security and supply chains,” he said.

For China, military-civil fusion is more than a slogan and a supply chain strategy.

“The 1260H list keeps growing for a reason: Beijing has systematically blurred the line between commerce and its military mission, tasking firms to support PLA modernization, data access requests and dual-use technology diffusion,” Mr. Singleton said.

“A longer 1260H list is not an escalation, it’s a lagging indicator of how deeply embedded China’s model has become.”