China on Tuesday strongly opposed the United States’ decision to expand its blacklist of Chinese companies, including major technology firms Alibaba and Baidu, accusing Washington of misusing national security concerns to justify economic pressure on Chinese enterprises. The latest escalation comes after the US Department of Defense on Monday added several Chinese companies to its list of firms it alleges are linked to or supporting China’s military. The move has further strained already tense relations between the world’s two largest economies, which have been locked in disputes over trade, technology access, and national security restrictions.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing “firmly opposed” what it described as the United States’ continued “generalisation of the concept of national security” and its “unreasonable suppression” of Chinese companies. He made the remarks during a regular press briefing in Beijing, where he reiterated China’s position that such actions distort fair market competition and undermine global business confidence.

Lin urged Washington to “correct its erroneous practices” and warned that China would take “necessary measures” to safeguard what it called the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. While he did not specify the exact nature of any retaliatory steps, the statement signalled that Beijing views the blacklist as a politically driven measure rather than a security necessity.

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The US list reportedly includes around 80 companies and their subsidiaries, covering a wide range of sectors from artificial intelligence and cloud computing to advanced manufacturing. The updated version is largely similar to an earlier draft that was briefly released in February before being withdrawn without explanation, adding to confusion over the policy’s rollout and enforcement.

Among the firms included are Alibaba Group and Baidu, two of China’s most prominent tech giants with global operations in e-commerce, cloud services, and artificial intelligence development. Their inclusion reflects Washington’s growing scrutiny of Chinese companies believed to have dual-use technologies that could potentially support military applications.

The revised list also reinstates two major Chinese memory chipmakers—ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies—both of which play significant roles in China’s semiconductor ambitions. Their re-addition underscores ongoing US efforts to limit China’s access to advanced chip technologies amid strategic competition in the global semiconductor industry.

Analysts say the move is part of a broader pattern of tightening US export controls and investment restrictions targeting Chinese technology firms. Beijing, however, continues to argue that such measures are discriminatory and harm global supply chains. The latest exchange highlights how technology has become a central battleground in the broader geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing, with both sides showing little sign of easing their positions in the near term.

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