Pentagon says Alibaba, Baidu, BYD and Unitree support China’s military

The U.S. Department of Defense has officially included Alibaba, Baidu, electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, and robotics innovator Unitree in its growing list of companies believed to provide support to the Chinese military. This addition raises the possibility of increased restrictions on American businesses engaging with these firms, further escalating the already tense relations between the U.S. and China. This list, referred to as the 1260H list, derives its name from a specific section of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that established it as a mechanism for the U.S. government to impose limitations on Chinese technology companies. During his presidency, Donald Trump implemented tariffs as a strategy to exert pressure on China, notably introducing a 100% tax on imported Chinese electric vehicles. Notably, this recent update to the 1260H list was momentarily made public in February before being retracted from the Federal Register under unclear circumstances, as reported by Bloomberg News. As it stands, the roster now features many of China's leading artificial intelligence firms, following the earlier inclusion of Tencent last year. This development occurs alongside discussions surrounding the potential for U.S. equity investments in the nation’s top AI enterprises. The list has expanded to encompass 188 companies, with several players from the automotive sector added this year. Besides BYD, trendy EV manufacturer Nio, alongside battery producers CALB Group and EVE Energy, has also been included. Furthermore, Robosense, a prominent producer of lidar sensors in China, joins its competitor Hesai on this list. Baidu continues to be recognized as a key player in China's autonomous vehicle sector. Requests for comments from Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, Nio, and Robosense have yet to be answered.