Tencent protests against US listing of Chinese military companies
Tencent is another company that the U.S. Department of Defense recognized as cooperating with the Chinese military.
Tencent company protests against being recognized by the US government as a Chinese military company.
The American Department of Defense has added several more technology companies from China to the list of "businesses" that cooperate with the Chinese military. This was made available for the first time almost a year ago, and now in addition to Tencent, it has been reached by CATL, one of the largest battery producers in the world (via BBC / CNN).
In theory, this is supposed to be one of the ways for the USA to combat the "civil-military fusion" strategy of the People's Republic of China, which involves attempts to increase military potential through the use of technologies developed by companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities. Currently, there are over 130 companies on the list.
Tencent (which also owns Whatsapp) quickly criticized the Pentagon's "mistake." Both the publisher and CATL recorded a drop in share value after the announcement by the U.S. authorities was made public.
Tencent underlined that it is neither a "military company" nor a "supplier," and its presence on the list "doesn't affect" its operation. A similar statement was published by the CATL company, and both companies announced their cooperation with the Department of Defense to clarify this "misunderstanding."
We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business. We will nonetheless work with the Department of Defense to address any misunderstanding.
According to Tencent, theoretically, being listed doesn't result in any sanctions. Nonetheless, American companies may be hesitant to continue cooperating with these "military" firms for fear of damaging their image.
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