By Michael Martina and Alexandra Alper
WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is expected to add companies, including Alibaba, to a list of firms allegedly aiding China's military as soon
as Friday, two people familiar with the matter said.
The Pentagon's 1260H list has not formally imposed sanctions on Chinese firms, but under a new law the department will be prevented in coming years from contracting and procuring from companies on the list.
Being added to the list also sends a message to suppliers to the Pentagon and other U.S. government agencies about the U.S. military's opinion of the firms, some of which have sued the U.S. over their inclusion.
Alibaba and the Pentagon could not be immediately reached for comment.
Updating the list could antagonize Beijing following a trade truce reached by China’s Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in October.
The list already includes major Chinese firms such as Tencent Holdings, one of China's largest tech companies, and CATL, a major battery maker in the electric vehicle industry.
Tencent said at the time it was added that its business would be unaffected and that it would initiate a reconsideration process to correct its inclusion, while CATL said it was "not engaged in any military-related activities".
U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth urging the Pentagon to add a slew of Chinese technology firms including AI firm DeepSeek, smartphone maker Xiaomi and electronic display maker BOE Technology to the list in December.
(Reporting by Michael Martina and Alexandra Alper; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Nick Zieminski, William Maclean)
