1260H lists pursue enterprises: why Alibaba, Baidu, Biady and Kosmetics are listed by the US as Chinese military affiliated enterprises

U.S. Department of Defense Updates Article 1260H List of Chinese Military Associated Enterprises by 2026Chinese business giants such as Alibaba, Baidu, Biady, Kosmetics and other entered the list. The list itself is not a conclusion for China's archives. The real answer is: what these companies do separately, why the US has named them, to what extent they have been disclosed between the Chinese military system, and which allegations are still in the administrative recognition or legal dispute phase.

The list is based on Section 1260H of the Defense Authorization Act for the 2021 fiscal year, which authorizes the Defense Minister to identify entities that operate directly or indirectly in the United States and meet specific Chinese military association standards, including entities identified as owned, controlled or as agents by the Liberation Army, Armed Police, relevant agencies of the Central Military Commission, and some "military civil integration contributors" under the legal definition.

From commercial robot dogs to liberation army exercise scenes, military uses are no longer just theoretical possibilities.

Unitree Robotics, which produces four-legged robots and human-like robots, is one of the most visible cases of the “civil technology-military scene” connection among these enterprises.A Reuters survey in August 2026 said:Chinese state television showed another robot carrying weapons, and joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army forces to participate in the exercise; reports also tracked the connection between the development of robotics technology and the global robotics research ecology.

The significance of this evidence is that it goes further than “robots with civilian dual potential”: public images have put specific enterprise products into the same scene as the Liberation Army’s activities. But this still does not automatically prove that cosmetics participated in arms reconstruction, directly signed military procurement contracts, or decided on the final military use of robots. To keep the corporate responsibility in place, further proofs such as procurement contracts, tender records, project heads and tech reconstruction subjects are needed.

Meanwhile, Reuters after reviewing more than 100 public documents in September that Chinese military researchers were studying humanoid robots for urban combat, reconnaissance, logistics and dangerous tasks, involving military research institutions such as National Defense Science and Technology Universities, and putting this set of materials together with Ostrom products into military activity scenes, it can be seen why the robotics industry is becoming the focus of 1260H censorship: a reality interface has emerged between civilian robotics platforms and military application research that can continue to be tracked.

Alibaba: Cloud computing and AI giants directly prosecute U.S. Department of Defense after entry into the list

Alibaba’s core include e-commerce, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.After the U.S. Department of Defense included Alibaba on the 1260H list,The company did not accept the assertion, but instead sued the Department of Defense in a federal court in June 2026.They demanded the removal of the label "Chinese military-related enterprises".

Reuters reports on lawsuits show that the U.S. determined that Alibaba was involved in China's government system, industrial and information sectors and related state-owned regulatory relations, while Alibaba clearly denied that it belonged to Chinese military enterprises, stressed that the company is governed by an independent board of directors, business is for commercial purposes, and questioned the defense ministry's determination.

Therefore, it cannot be written about Alibaba as “providing military technology for the Liberation Army has been confirmed”. Currently, what can be confirmed is that the U.S. Department of Defense has made the 1260H administrative recognition, Alibaba has formally appealed to the court to challenge that recognition, and there is substantial dispute between the two sides about the facts and legal standards.

Hundred: Artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and cloud capabilities enter the scope of military and civilian two-use censorship

The company was listed in the 1260H list of 2026, putting its AI, cloud computing and autonomous driving capabilities into the U.S. Defense Security Review Framework. The company has long invested in big models, smart clouds, maps, autonomous driving and robotics-related technologies; these capabilities have a wide range of commercial uses, while some of the underlying technologies also have military-civil dual-use properties.

But “military dual-purpose” is not synonymous with “already participating in military projects.” For Bordeaux, reports must separate the U.S. Department of Defense’s listing behavior from specific military contracts that can be independently confirmed. Currently, public material is sufficient to confirm that it is included in the U.S. framework of 1260H, but can not only deduce by listing every AI or autonomous business that serves the Liberation Army. The next level of investigation should focus on military procurement, defense school cooperation, government research projects and specific technology end-users, rather than militarize the company’s entire commercial R&D.

BYD: Why Batteries, Electric Vehicles and Advanced Manufacturing are on the list

Byadi’s core capabilities focus on new energy vehicles, power batteries, energy storage and advanced manufacturing. It was included in the 1260H list explaining that the U.S. Department of Defense’s review of Chinese military-civil integration has gone beyond traditional military and communications enterprises, extending to energy storage, vehicle platforms and manufacturing supply chains.

Batteries, electric drive systems and scalable manufacturing capabilities have clear civilian value, and can also be used in military vehicles, unmanned platforms, logistics and energy systems. But it is also necessary to clear the boundaries of evidence: BYD entering the list is an administrative recognition by the U.S. Department of Defense, and it cannot alone prove that a BYD car or battery has entered the Liberation Army weapons system. To further determine corporate responsibility, it is necessary to find specific records such as military procurement, military supplies, joint research and development or final military users.

“Four companies are not the same evidence and cannot bear the same responsibility.”

After the combination of Alibaba, Alibaba, Baidu and Biady, the differences between the evidence within the 1260H list became clear. Alibaba has made public reports of enterprise products entering the Liberation Army’s activity scene; Alibaba’s dispute has been brought to U.S. federal courts, and the administrative determination will be challenged; and Baidu and Biady need to continue tracking from the list to specific projects, contracts and end-users.

That’s the difference between chasing reports and simply repeating lists. You can’t write them as having exactly the same behavior because four companies are listed at the same time by the U.S. Department of Defense, or ignore existing administrative records and public evidence because companies deny it. Each company needs to create a separate evidence archive.

The upstream of the chain of responsibility: Xi Jinping-led military-civil integration national strategy

The investigation at the enterprise level must also be put back into the understanding of the Chinese military-civil integration system.China's official documents show that Xi Jinping has promoted military-civil integration as a national strategy after he came to power and served as director of the Central Military-civil integration development committee.The first plenary meeting of the Committee in 2017Clearly assume the decision-making and coordination functions of major issues of military-civil integration, and emphasize centralized and unified leadership.

From the perspective of the institutional structure, the central level is responsible for strategic and policy design, the Liberation Army and defense research system put forward the military capacity needs, local governments, universities, research institutes, industrial funds and enterprises can participate in research and development, investment and industrialization. Xi Jinping's open role in this chain belongs to the leadership of the state strategy and the highest level of organizations; a certain enterprise in the specific military projects, must also be demonstrated by contracts, project documents, procurement records and personnel relations.

This distinction is crucial.Investigation of institutional responsibility cannot replace the investigation of specific behaviors of enterprises; likewise, investigation of enterprises cannot cut off the national policy system in which it is located.A truly complete chain of responsibility must simultaneously answer "who created the system" and "who implemented what specific projects".

1260H has realistic consequences

The U.S. Defense Procurement System is turning list results into contracts and supply chain restrictions, so companies are also facing partner review, investor risk assessment and litigation costs. Alibaba has chosen to prosecute the Department of Defense directly, stating that the listing has real commercial and legal implications.

Beijing has long criticized such U.S. measures for widespread national security and pressure on Chinese enterprises; the U.S. government says the system is aimed at preventing U.S. capital, technology and procurement systems from supporting Chinese military modernization.

The next step is not to ask “which companies are”, but to follow each company to the end.

So far, the four companies have presented four different investigations: Alibaba has public evidence of products entering the Liberation Army activity scene; Alibaba enters the judicial dispute phase; Baidu and Biady have been administered by 1260H, but specific military projects still need more public documents to be confirmed.

Therefore, what the report can confirm is not “all companies on the list are involved in military activities”, but a more accurate responsibility chart: the central civilian integration system under Xi’s leadership constitutes a policy upstream; the U.S. Department of Defense uses the 1260H mechanism to identify companies it believes to have legal associations with this system; and the enterprise level must be verified one by one.

The following is the most valuable enterprise file: military contract numbers, procurement units, project names, cooperative universities or military industrial groups, technology types, key managers, enterprise responses, administrative recognition documents and judicial progress. Only these materials can be closed one by one, and the 1260H list can truly be transformed from a political dispute into a verifiable network of military civil integration responsibilities.