US adds BYD, Nio and battery maker CALB to Chinese military company blacklist
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US adds BYD, Nio and battery maker CALB to Chinese military company blacklist
4 min to read
Jun 9, 2026 12:18 AM CEST
Jiri Opletal
Nio ET5T sedan equipped with the plush DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile toy in China. Credit: CarNewsChina
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The US Department of Defence has added several Chinese EV makers, battery makers, and technology companies to its list of “Chinese military companies,” including BYD, Nio, and CALB.
The updated Section 1260H list also includes Alibaba, Baidu, battery maker EVE Energy, lidar makers Hesai and BYD-backed Robosense, WuXi AppTec, TP-Link, and robotic startup Unitree, according to a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication this week.
Nvidia announced a partnership with Unitree at the beginning of June. Eve Energy supplies batteries to Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
The Defence Department also removed several entities from the previous version of the list, including CNOOC China Ltd and CNOOC International Trading, both linked to China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
The Pentagon’s move does not automatically impose sanctions. However, it can restrict future US government procurement and may complicate business with US partners, especially in sectors connected to defence supply chains, capital markets, and government contracts. Companies on the list can petition the Pentagon for removal.
The Pentagon said BYD is directly and indirectly affiliated with China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) and indirectly affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). It also claimed that BYD is a “military-civil fusion contributor” because of its links to MIIT and its location in, or affiliation with, a military-civil fusion enterprise zone, according to a Department of Defence document viewed by CarNewsChina.
For Nio, the Pentagon said the EV maker is directly and indirectly affiliated with SASAC and is a military-civil fusion contributor because it is affiliated with MIIT.
BYD has manufacturing operations in the US. As CarNewsChina reported in 2013, BYD announced plans for a US electric bus plant in Lancaster, California. Production began the following year, and BYD later expanded the facility to more than 500,000 square feet.
Nio also has a US footprint. The company said in its 2026 ESG report that San Jose remains one of its global R&D and facility locations, alongside sites in China, Europe, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
Other automotive and mobility-related companies on the list include EVE Energy, lidar makers Hesai and RoboSense, and robotics company Unitree. EVE Energy was cited by the Pentagon for alleged links to SASAC and for receiving government support through China’s “Single Champion” program. RoboSense was cited as a military-civil fusion contributor because of alleged PLA affiliation, while Hesai was cited for alleged links to MIIT, SASAC, and the PLA.
Unitree’s inclusion is notable because Nvidia announced on June 1 that the Unitree H2 Plus humanoid robot would be used in its Isaac GR00T reference design for academic robotics research, alongside Nvidia’s Jetson Thor computing platform and Isaac GR00T software.
CALB is one of China’s top EV battery makers, with customers including Volkswagen-backed Xpeng, Stellantis-backed Leapmotor, GAC, Mazda, Changan and Deepal. The company also recently unveiled a 60Ah all-solid-state battery cell, which it said is aimed first at humanoid robots and eVTOL aircraft, with small-batch automotive use planned for 2027.
The list also covers companies outside the EV supply chain. Alibaba and Baidu were added, along with biotech company WuXi AppTec, display-panel maker BOE, solar companies JA Solar and Trina Solar, router maker TP-Link, and memory chipmakers CXMT and YMTC. Tencent and CATL were already added to an earlier version of the list in January 2025.
WuXi AppTec rejected the designation, calling it incorrect and saying it would take action to challenge the decision, according to Reuters. The company said it is an independent, publicly traded business and does not meet the statutory criteria for inclusion.
The latest update expands the Section 1260H list beyond traditional defence and telecom firms into electric vehicles, batteries, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, semiconductors, solar energy, and lidar. It comes as the US continues to tighten scrutiny of Chinese technology companies, saying it may support China’s military or military-civil fusion strategy.
The 1260H list is separate from other US restrictions, including the...