Tech giants Tencent, CATL and others protest US listings as army-linked companies

abcnews.go.com:

The U.S. Defense Department has added major Chinese technology companies including gaming and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL to its list of companies it says have ties to Ch...

HONG KONG — The U.S. Defense Department has added dozens of Chinese companies, including games and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL, to a list of companies it says have ties to China’s military, prompting some to protest and say they will seek to have the decision reversed.

The U.S. has in recent years sought to restrict sharing of advanced technology, including semiconductors and artificial intelligence, deeming it to be a threat to national security. The Defense Department updates its list of “Chinese Military Companies,” or CMC list, annually. With the latest revision it includes 134 companies. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 bans the Department of Defense from dealing with the designated companies beginning in June 2026.

Tencent's Hong Kong-traded shares fell 7.3% on Tuesday and the company said it would “initiate a reconsideration process to correct this mistake,” seek talks with the Defense Department and if need be take legal measures to get it removed from the list. Tencent is the world's largest video gaming company and operates Chinese messaging platform WeChat.

“As the company is neither a Chinese military company nor a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base, it believes that its inclusion in the CMC List is a mistake,” Tencent said in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. “Unlike other lists maintained by the U.S.