BEIJING, June 13 (Reuters) – Beijing has voiced strong opposition to Washington’s decision to place multiple major Chinese corporations on the Defense Department’s registry of companies allegedly supporting China’s armed forces, according to Saturday statements from the commerce ministry.
The foreign ministry has similarly raised objections to the Defense Department’s updated registry released Monday, which featured prominent technology corporations including online retail giant Alibaba, search engine company Baidu, and vehicle manufacturers BYD and NIO.
The Pentagon subsequently included two of the globe’s biggest solar panel manufacturers on the registry: Trina Solar and JA Solar Technology.
The registry encompasses numerous leading Chinese technology corporations that are crucial to enhancing Beijing’s defense capabilities and industrial strength, demonstrating Washington’s security worries during heightened strategic rivalry between the nations.
“China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this,” the commerce ministry stated. “China urges the U.S. to immediately stop its erroneous practices, immediately withdraw relevant measures and return to the correct track of building a constructive strategic and stable China-U.S. relationship.”
Should Chinese companies face unfair treatment, the ministry warned that Beijing will “inevitably retaliate resolutely and forcefully”.
The Pentagon’s revised registry replaces an earlier version from early 2025 and follows by one month the Beijing meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, where they preserved a fragile trade-war ceasefire.
The ministry’s statement claimed the Pentagon’s action “ignored the consensus” achieved by the two presidents.
According to U.S. legislation, the Defense Department cannot directly contract with listed companies and faces restrictions on purchasing their goods or services through intermediaries starting in 2027.
