Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Defense Department has added dozens of Chinese companies to a list of companies banned from working with the Pentagon and the defense industry because of their alleged ties to China’s military, including tech giant Tencent.
The updated blacklist, published on Tuesday in the federal register, it also includes the company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), which makes batteries for Tesla, the electric car company owned by billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump.
The list also includes Chinese drone company Autel Robotics, which, along with DJI, has drawn intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill over national security concerns.
Companies now considered Chinese military enterprises work in various sectors, including the semiconductor chip industry, telecommunications, machinery and technology.
Both CATL and Tencent have denied working with the Chinese military, known as the People’s Liberation Army.
CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, he said in a statement that “he has never been engaged in any business or military activity, so this designation by the Department of Defense is a mistake.”
The designation “does not restrict CATL from conducting business with entities other than the DoD and is not expected to have a materially adverse impact on our business,” the company said.
“We will proactively engage with the DoD to address the false designation, including legal action if necessary, to protect the interests of our company and shareholders as a whole,” he added.
Tencent, which owns several video games and popular technology platforms such as messaging service WeChat, he said in a statement that it was “neither a Chinese military enterprise nor a contributor to military-civilian fusion in the Chinese defense industrial base.”
Tencent called its blacklisting a “mistake” and said it would work to resolve the issue with US officials. The Chinese company said its business would not be affected because the list only prohibits working with the Pentagon and the defense industry.
The United States and China have engaged in more provocative actions against each other in recent months, with the Biden administration restricting Chinese access to technology such as semiconductor chips and Beijing adding American companies to your list of sanctions.
