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Alibaba sues Pentagon over 'Chinese military company' designation

The Zioneer Intelligence Desk

Primary source Internal intake · 1 reviewed intake signal · Desk window 18:51

TL;DR

Chinese tech giant Alibaba has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Defense Department this week over its designation of the company as a 'Chinese military company operating in the U.S.', which bars it from Pentagon contracts. Alibaba denies any ties to the Chinese military and demands its removal from the blacklist.

01 · THE DISPATCH

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon this week, challenging its classification of the company as a "Chinese military company operating in the United States." The designation prohibits Alibaba from doing business with the U.S. Department of Defense. The company argues it has no ties to the People's Liberation Army and is demanding its removal from the list. The Pentagon has not yet responded. Casey Fleming, Chairman and CEO of Black Ops Partners, said anything backed by the Chinese Communist Party is part of "a dark, satanic, completely repressive apparatus" and called the lawsuit groundless, questioning why the U.S. should purchase Chinese products. This development follows the Pentagon's addition of Alibaba, alongside Baidu and BYD, to its military-entity blacklist earlier this month, as The Zioneer reported. China subsequently warned of "resolute and forceful" countermeasures and later imposed export curbs on ten U.S. defense firms, targeting rare-earth supplies. The significance of the case lies in the ongoing legal and regulatory friction between Washington and Beijing over the Pentagon's expansive interpretation of the term "military company" under U.S. law.

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