US ups pressure on Tencent by designating it a Chinese military company

Microchip on a motherboard with Flag of China and USA. Concept for the battle of global microchips production.

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US government adds Tencent to Chinese military entity list
Tencent and CATL call their addition a "mistake"
Addition comes a stone throw from Trump's inauguration

The US government has designated Tencent, owner of popular messaging app WeChat, as a Chinese military company.

The Section 1260H list consists of Chinese companies that operate in the US which could have links to the Chinese military, to warn US businesses against trading with these entities.

Both Tencent and CATL, a battery manufacturing company, were added to the list by the Department of Defense along with several other Chinese organizations.

Tencent says addition is a “mistake”

Speaking to the BBC in response to Tencent’s addition to the entity list, the company stated, “We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business.”

The company also said its addition to the list was “clearly a mistake.” CATL also called its addition to the list a mistake.

The Section 1260H list is updated on an annual basis and includes the Huawei Technologies Company, along with numerous Chinese semiconductor manufacturers.

The list does not ban US companies from trading with the listed companies, but it does add pressure for the companies to be sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, issued a statement on the updated list, saying, “The US's practices violate the market competition principles and international economic and trade rules that it has always advocated, and undermine the confidence of foreign companies in investing and operating in the United States.”

The US and its allies have been attempting to purge Chinese technology from domestic consumer markets and infrastructure, with the US banning numerous Chinese tech manufacturers including Huawei from selling their products in the US amid national security fears.

The UK has taken similar steps, including the ban of new Huawei technologies from 5G infrastructure, with existing tech needing to be removed from the network by 2027.

The addition of these companies to the entity list comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and China with an ongoing trade war, and president-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House this month after a campaign filled with anti-China rhetoric.

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Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division), then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.