Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, challenging its designation as a “Chinese military company” and seeking removal from a federal blacklist that restricts business ties with the Pentagon.
In a court filing submitted Tuesday, Alibaba rejected the allegations, arguing it has no affiliation with the Chinese military and that the designation lacks factual or legal basis. “The decision has no factual or legal foundation. Alibaba is managed by an independent board, none of whose members have military affiliations,” the company said in its complaint, according to Al Jazeera. “Its products and services are designed for retail, logistics and enterprise information technology, not for weapons, defense or intelligence,” it added.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose, California, seeks to overturn the Pentagon’s decision and remove Alibaba from a list of companies the U.S. government says are linked to China’s military apparatus. On June 8, the Defense Department added Alibaba, along with firms including BYD and Baidu, to the list of companies it believes support China’s military modernization efforts.
Alibaba previously warned it would pursue legal action in response to the designation. “Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy,” a company spokesperson said following the listing. “We will take all available legal measures against attempts to mischaracterize our company.”
China’s embassy in Washington condemned the move as discriminatory. “Chinese companies operating overseas have strictly complied with the laws and regulations of the countries where they operate,” a spokesperson said, urging Washington to “stop this wrong practice and create a fair, equal and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.”
The Pentagon list of alleged Chinese military-linked companies has grown to 188 firms, up from 134 in 2025, as Washington intensifies scrutiny of China’s technology sector. Companies on the list are barred from supplying goods, services or technology to the Defense Department starting June 30, while a broader prohibition on federal contracting is set to take effect in 2027, including through third-party arrangements.
Pentagon officials said Alibaba was designated due to its alleged contribution to China’s military-civil fusion strategy through ties to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Government contracts remain a lucrative source of revenue for major technology firms, making the designation commercially significant.
