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Tue, 23 Jun 2026

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba sues US government over defence blacklist

It is suing the US defence department after it was added to a list of firms with ties to the Chinese military.
Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce and tech giant, has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense (DoD) in a California federal court. The company is challenging its inclusion on a Pentagon blacklist that claims it is linked to the Chinese military. According to Alibaba, the DoD's decision was "arbitrary and capricious" and based on flawed assumptions. Alibaba argues that by complying with local regulations, it does not become an arm of the military. The company notes that every multinational operating in China must follow the same rules and that its platforms are designed for retail and cloud computing, not military purposes. If left on the blacklist, Alibaba faces significant operational penalties from June 30, including being barred from doing business with the Pentagon or any US contractor sharing a lobbyist or law firm with it. The company's lawyers argue that this restriction effectively silences its American advisers and strips it of its voice in Washington at a critical time.