Chinese tech companies Tencent, CATL and others protest US listings as army-linked companies
HONG KONG — The US Department of Defense has added dozens of Chinese companies, including games and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence company SenseTime and the the world’s largest battery manufacturer CATLto a list of companies it says have ties to the Chinese military, prompting some to protest and say they will try to reverse the decision.
In recent years, Washington has done the same tried to limit the sharing of advanced technologyincluding semiconductors and AI, and consider this a threat to national security.
The U.S. Department of Defense annually updates its list of “Chinese Military Companies,” or CMC List. At last revision it includes 134 companies. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 prohibits the Department of Defense from doing business with the designated companies beginning in June 2026.
Tencent’s Hong Kong-traded shares fell 7.3% on Tuesday and the company said it would “initiate a review process to correct this error,” seek discussions with the US Department of Defense and take legal action if necessary to have the company removed from the list. Tencent is the world’s largest video game company and operates the Chinese messaging platform WeChat.
“As the company is neither a Chinese military company nor a military-civilian merger contributing to China’s defense industrial base, it believes that its inclusion in the CMC list is a mistake,” Tencent said in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“Unlike other lists maintained by the U.S. government for sanctions or export control measures, inclusion in the CMC list only covers U.S. defense purchases, which does not impact the Group’s operations,” the report said.
Battery maker CATL said in a statement on its website that the company has “never been involved in military affairs or activities,” and said the designation would not adversely affect its business.
Like Tencent, CATL claims that its inclusion on the list was a “mistake” and that it would proactively work with the Pentagon to “address the false designation” and take legal action if necessary to protect the interests of the company and the protect stakeholders. Shares of CATL fell 2.84% in Shenzhen.
AI company SenseTime said in a statement that the decision to list it had “no factual basis.”
“We strongly disagree,” SenseTime’s statement said, adding that the decision “has no material impact on our global operations.”
“SenseTime remains committed to working with relevant stakeholders to address this matter, and to protect the interests of the company and our shareholders,” the company said.
At a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the US to “immediately correct its wrong practices and lift the illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction against Chinese companies. ”
“China consistently and firmly opposes the US overburdening the concept of national security, establishing discriminatory lists under various pretexts and unjustly suppressing Chinese companies, thereby hindering China’s high-quality development,” Guo said.