China's largest memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has sued the Pentagon over its inclusion on a U.S. list of companies allegedly linked to China's military. Filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the lawsuit argues that CXMT is a civilian company with no military ties, producing DRAM chips used in smartphones, computers, servers and AI systems.
The Pentagon first designated CXMT a Chinese military company under the Biden administration in January 2025 and the Trump administration retained the listing in a June update. CXMT claims the designation is "arbitrary" lacks evidentiary support and violates its due-process rights.
According to the complaint CXMT spent over a year submitting information to challenge the listing. It said the Pentagon issued a notice in February indicating the company would be removed only to withdraw that notice the same day, later relisting CXMT without adequate explanation.
The company said it has suffered ongoing "reputational and commercial harm" since the designation also adding that the lawsuit aims to protect its business interests. CXMT's revenue surged 874% in the first half of the year, and the company hopes to eventually enter the U.S. market.
The lawsuit names the Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg and Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Cadenazzi as defendants.
CXMT's legal challenge follows a similar move by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, which sued the U.S. government in June over the same designation. Smartphone and EV maker Xiaomi successfully got itself removed from the list in 2021 through a similar lawsuit.
The case highlights ongoing tension between Washington and Chinese technology firms amid broader U.S.-China trade and security disputes.
