
US adds Tencent, CATL to list of companies working with Chinese military
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7/28/2025 • 3 min read
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Keep knowledgeable with free updatesMerely register at US-China relations myFT Digest – delivered straight to your inbox.Hong Kong-listed shares of Tencent fell 6.7 % on Tuesday after the Pentagon designated the tech big as a Chinese army company working in the USA.The gaming and social media group, proprietor of the ever present Chinese messaging app WeChat, has been added to an inventory of dozens of corporations that the Defense Department considers to be working immediately or not directly with the Chinese language army, in response to a federal doc launched Monday. U.S.-listed shares of Tencent closed down 7.8 % following the news.The record is a part of Washington’s broader effort to thwart China’s rise as a army superpower.CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, was also added to the Pentagon’s listing. The automaker, which is a serious supplier to electrical car maker Tesla, has a worldwide electrical car battery market share of round 38 %. Its shares in mainland China opened three % lower on Tuesday.The Pentagon described the record as a solution to highlight and counter what it calls China’s “military-civilian fusion technique,” which helps China’s army modernization efforts by making certain it may well acquire cutting-edge technologies from hidden Chinese language corporations, universities and analysis packages. as civil entities.America has imposed a number of rounds of drastic export controls meant to limit China’s capacity to create a complicated semiconductor business and make it harder for Beijing to develop artificial intelligence for army use.In retaliation, Beijing tightened its own export controls. Last month, he banned shipments to the USA of sure minerals and metals used in the manufacture of semiconductors and army gear. Adding Chinese language army corporations to the Pentagon’s blacklist has no direct legal consequences and does not end in sanctions. Nevertheless, this carries reputational risks. Tencent’s addition to the listing “is clearly a mistake,” an organization spokesperson stated.“We are neither an organization nor a army provider. In contrast to sanctions or export controls, this listing has no influence on our business. We'll, nevertheless, work with the Ministry of Defense to clear up any misunderstandings,” the spokesperson added.CATL, which is working with Tesla and Ford to license its battery manufacturing know-how to factories in the USA, additionally referred to as its inclusion on the record a “mistake.”“CATL is just not engaged in any army actions,” the company stated. “We help accountable discourse about our business operations and take issues concerning our business significantly. »Chipmaker ChangXin Memory Applied sciences, drone maker Autel Robotics and IT gear maker Quectel Wi-fi Solutions have been additionally added to the listing.BeneficialCosco, certainly one of China’s largest delivery corporations, joined the listing for the primary time. Several of the group’s ferries, in addition to these of different buying and selling corporations, participated in Individuals’s Liberation Army workouts to apply an amphibious invasion of Taiwan, in response to ship monitoring knowledge and appearances in Chinese language state media .In recent times, Beijing has required civilian delivery corporations to build their new ships to army requirements. Using civilian ships is a key part of the PLA’s strategy because it doesn't have adequate capacity of its personal to move troops and armored automobiles across the Taiwan Strait.The Pentagon will not have the ability to subcontract to corporations on the record starting in June 2026, and beginning in 2027, it is going to not be capable of buy goods or providers that embrace listed corporations of their supply chains.Further reporting by Kathrin Hille in Taipei