China’s CXMT Sues the U.S. for Inclusion on Military-linked Blacklist

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading memory chipmaker, is suing the U.S. Department of Defense as it seeks a removal from a Pentagon blacklist identifying it as a Chinese military-linked entity.

CXMT denied any affiliations with the military and said it produces its DRAM chips for civilian and commercial uses. Its lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, also names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among the defendants.

CXMT was added to the U.S. government’s Section 1260H list in January 2025 and remained on the list after a review in June 2026. The company joins a growing number of Chinese entities, including Alibaba, that have taken legal action against the U.S. Department of Defense for designations they said were made erroneously. The “Chinese Military Companies” list flags companies that the DoD deems to be owned, controlled or operated by the Chinese military, or to act on behalf of the Chinese military. The list bars anyone included from doing business with the DoD and carries no other immediate sanction implications. Most of the companies on the list are state-backed. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi was removed from a similar designation in 2021 after filing a lawsuit against the Pentagon.

CXMT said in a statement that its inclusion on the list will not have a significant adverse impact on its daily operations, but stated that further restrictive policies in the short-term would lead to supply chain instability.