In a mismanaged incident involving the blacklisting of Chinese tech firms, the Pentagon added Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. to a list of companies purportedly supporting the Chinese military, only to have the US Federal Register declare it “unpublished” shortly thereafter at the Pentagon’s request. This confusion occurred just as President Trump is preparing for a high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping in mid-May, amid growing tensions over technology between the U.S. and China. The episode not only led to a drop in share prices for both companies but also revealed internal disagreements within the Trump administration regarding its strategy toward Beijing, particularly in handling the blacklisting procedure which faced objections from the White House.
Baidu Inc.: Baidu Inc. is a leading Chinese AI company with a strong internet foundation, providing search, mapping, online content, and autonomous driving technologies via Apollo Go and custom Kunlunxin chips. It focuses on generative AI, cloud services, and data-sovereign technologies tailored for the Chinese market. The company was briefly designated by the Pentagon as supporting the Chinese military in the incident, after which it pledged to challenge the label.
Kate O’Keeffe: Kate O’Keeffe is a Bloomberg News reporter based in Washington, D.C., specializing in U.S.-China technology rivalry and national security issues. She previously covered similar topics at The Wall Street Journal. She wrote the article examining the Pentagon’s mishandled blacklisting of Alibaba and Baidu as a window into Trump administration divisions on China policy.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet services, and cloud computing through Alibaba Cloud. Recently, it has advanced its AI capabilities by integrating proprietary Qwen large language models into Salesforce CRM products in China and launching a data center powered by its own chips. In this news, Alibaba was mistakenly added to the Pentagon’s list of companies aiding the Chinese military, leading to a swift withdrawal and a company statement denying the allegation.
Upcoming Summit: President Trump plans to meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing in mid-May amid heightened U.S.-China tech tensions.
Administration Dynamics: The blacklisting mishap highlights internal disagreements within the Trump administration on its Beijing strategy.
Tech Blacklist Incident: The Pentagon’s updated list of Chinese military-linked companies including Alibaba and Baidu was published and then unpublished minutes later in February due to White House objections over unapproved removals of other firms.