Alibaba accuses US military of calling them ‘Chinese military company’ | Court Affairs

The e-commerce giant said the US government’s claims of cooperation with the Chinese military have ‘no basis or law’.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba has sued the United States Department of Defense for calling the retailer a “Chinese military company”.

A court ruling from Alibaba on Tuesday challenged the name, saying the e-commerce giant is not affiliated with the Chinese military.

“These decisions have no basis in fact or law,” the company said in its ruling. “Alibaba is controlled by an independent group, no one has an army.”

“Its products and services are designed for commercial, property, and business information technology — not hardware, security, or intelligence,” the company added.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Jose, California, and seeks to have Alibaba’s name removed from a growing list of companies that have been deregistered because of their ties to the Chinese military.

The US added Alibaba to a list of companies is believed to be supporting the Chinese military on June 8, along with Chinese companies such as BYD and Baidu.

Alibaba at the time warned that it would take action to challenge the name.

“Alibaba is not China’s military or military unit,” said a company spokesperson following the listing. “We will do everything in our power to try to represent our company.”

China’s ambassador in Washington, DC, denounced the names as “discriminatory”.

“Chinese companies doing business overseas have been strictly following the laws and regulations of their host countries,” said a spokesman for the embassy. “The U.S. must stop its wrongful practices and create a fair, fair and impartial environment for Chinese companies.”

The Pentagon’s list of “Chinese military companies” has risen to include 188 companies, up from 134 in 2025, as the US pressures China’s technology sector.

The companies on the list cannot provide “goods, services or technology” to the Department of Defense, as of June 30.

Starting in 2027, the Pentagon will also be prohibited from “contracting goods and services” from such groups, even if they come through a third party.

US government contracts are often highly sought after by technology companies as a lucrative business opportunity.

In a wordsThe Pentagon accused Alibaba of “supporting the integration of the military into the defense industry of China because of its cooperation with MIIT”, a summary of the Ministry of Industry and Technology of China.