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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

US lawmakers urge Pentagon to add DeepSeek, Xiaomi to China military-linked firms list

Republicans want to add 19 more entities to the document that already includes tech giant Tencent Holdings and major ‍battery maker CATL

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A letter, from US lawmakers asks for AI firm DeepSeek and other Chinese companies to be put on what is known as the Section 1260H list. Photo: Reuters
Bochen Hanin Washington

Nine Republican lawmakers, including several congressional committee chairs, sent a letter this week urging US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to add more than a dozen Chinese technology firms to the Pentagon’s list of companies alleged to have links to the Chinese military.

The letter, released on Friday after US President Donald Trump signed a US$900 billion military spending bill restricting US investments into Chinese tech, asks the Pentagon chief to place AI firm DeepSeek, smartphone maker Xiaomi and pharmaceutical services company Wuxi AppTec on what is known as the Section 1260H list.

While placement on the annually updated Pentagon list does not involve immediate bans, it sends a stark warning to US entities about the risks of conducting business with affected companies and could put pressure on other executive branch agencies and Congress to add more restrictions.

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Other firms named by the lawmakers include battery maker Gotion High-Tech; chip companies Hua Hong Semiconductor, Kingsemi and Shennan Circuit; display and imaging companies BOE Technology Group and Tianma Microelectronics; sensing, surveillance and robotics firms CloudMinds, LeiShen, Livox, RoboSense, Tiandy Technologies, Unitree Robotics; and biotech firm GenScript Group.

The list, reflecting bipartisan concern that the US is contributing to firms fuelling China’s military rise, was last updated in January 2025. A 2021 defence authorisation act, similar to the one Trump signed this week, mandates that the 1260H list be updated every year until 2030.

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth at a Christmas service at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth at a Christmas service at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images
In recent years, multiple Chinese firms placed on the blacklist – including drone maker DJI and lidar maker Hesai Group – have sued the Pentagon for including them, arguing that they do not have military links.
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