The e-commerce big says that the US authorities’s claims that it’s affiliated with the Chinese language navy have ‘no foundation actually or regulation’.
Printed On 23 Jun 2026
The Chinese language e-commerce firm Alibaba has filed a lawsuit towards the USA Division of Protection for labelling the retailer a “Chinese language navy firm”.
A court docket submitting from Alibaba on Tuesday contests that designation, arguing that the e-commerce big isn’t affiliated with the Chinese language navy.
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“The determinations don’t have any foundation actually or regulation,” the corporate stated in its lawsuit. “Alibaba is ruled by an impartial board, none of whom has any navy affiliation.”
“Its services are constructed for retail, logistics, and enterprise data expertise — not weapons, protection, or intelligence,” the corporate added.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court docket in San Jose, California, and seeks the removing of Alibaba’s identify from a rising record of corporations blacklisted for alleged affiliations with China’s navy.
The US added Alibaba to a list of companies believed to be aiding the Chinese language navy on June 8, together with Chinese language corporations corresponding to BYD and Baidu.
Alibaba on the time warned that it might take authorized motion to contest the designation.
“Alibaba isn’t a Chinese language navy firm nor a part of any military-civil fusion technique,” an organization spokesperson stated following the designation. “We are going to take all accessible authorized motion towards makes an attempt to misrepresent our firm.”
China’s embassy in Washington, DC, slammed these designations as “discriminatory”.
“Chinese language corporations that do enterprise abroad have been strictly observing legal guidelines and laws of their host nations,” an embassy spokesperson stated. “The US ought to cease its incorrect apply and create a good, simply and non-discriminatory atmosphere for Chinese language corporations.”
The Pentagon’s record of designated “Chinese language navy corporations” has risen to incorporate 188 corporations, up from 134 in 2025, because the US ratchets up strain on the Chinese language tech sector.
Corporations included on the record can’t present “items, providers or expertise” to the Division of Protection, as of June 30.
Beginning in 2027, the Pentagon will even be prohibited from “contracting for items and providers” from such teams, even when they arrive via a 3rd occasion.
US authorities contracts are sometimes extremely sought-after by tech corporations as profitable industrial alternatives.
In a statement, the Pentagon accused Alibaba of being “a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese language protection industrial base as a result of it’s affiliated with MIIT”, an acronym for China’s Ministry of Business and Info Expertise.
