Alibaba has filed a lawsuit against the United States government after being placed on a Pentagon blacklist of companies Washington says are linked to China’s military, turning another U.S.-China technology dispute into a legal battle.
Alibaba, a Chinese technology and e-commerce giant, sued the U.S. government on Tuesday after the Department of Defense linked the company to China’s military.
Alibaba Challenges Pentagon Blacklist
The complaint was filed in federal court in San Jose, California.
Reuters reported that Alibaba sued after the Pentagon expanded its blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies on June 8 to 188 entities. The list reflects Washington’s concern that China’s military could tap the country’s private sector for technological advancements.
The BBC framed the dispute around the defence blacklist itself.
BBC said Alibaba is challenging the U.S. defence department after being added to a blacklist of companies described as having ties to the Chinese military. That framing matters because the case is not only about one company’s reputation, but also about how the U.S. government defines military-linked technology firms.
Pentagon Cites Military-Civil Fusion Concerns
The Pentagon’s designation centers on alleged links between Alibaba and Chinese state institutions. Alibaba was accused of being a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base through an affiliation with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The Pentagon said Alibaba is indirectly affiliated with China’s state asset regulator, known as SASAC.
Alibaba strongly denied the label. Alibaba said that the determinations have no basis in fact or law. Alibaba said that it is governed by an independent board and that none of its board members has any military affiliation.
Company Says Its Business Is Commercial
Alibaba argued that its products and services are not designed for military use. Alibaba said its products and services are built for retail, logistics and enterprise information technology, not weapons, defense, or intelligence.
The company is asking the court to remove it from the list. Alibaba’s lawsuit seeks removal from the Pentagon list.
Business Restrictions Could Follow
The blacklist does not automatically impose formal sanctions, but it carries serious business consequences. Inclusion on the list does not mean formal sanctions. However, recent U.S. law bars the Pentagon from contracting with companies on the blacklist starting this month and blocks purchases of their products or services through third parties beginning in 2027.
Alibaba said the designation has already hurt the company. Alibaba called the designation arbitrary and capricious and said it has caused irreparable harm. Alibaba said that the label casts a shadow over every U.S. relationship the company maintains.
Wider U.S.-China Tech Tensions
Alibaba is not the only major Chinese firm affected. Other companies added to the list this month include Baidu, automakers BYD and NIO, and biotechnology company WuXi AppTec. WuXi AppTec filed a similar lawsuit on June 11.
The lawsuit shows how national security rules are increasingly shaping the global business environment for Chinese technology companies. For Alibaba, the legal fight is not only about whether the Pentagon can restrict future dealings. It is about whether one of China’s biggest commercial tech companies can be publicly branded as military-linked despite its claim that the label has no factual or legal basis.
