CATL reportedly to be added to US list of companies linked to Chinese military

Hong Kong-based newspaper the “South China Morning Post” has reported Chinese battery giant CATL is among five companies set to be added to a list of entities the United States considers a risk to its national security.

“The Post” reported CATL was set to be added to the 134-strong list, comprised of 57 entities and subsidiaries, on Jan. 7, 2025, alongside technology giant TenCent, chipmaker Changxin Memory Technologies, drone manufacturer Autel Robotics, and internet-of-things business Quectel Wireless.

The list of companies the Pentagon suspects to have links to the Chinese military, which is updated annually under the Defense Authorization Act 1999, had not been updated on the US Department of Defense (DoD) website to include the companies in question at the time of going to press.

ESS News has contacted CATL for comment.

“The Post” reported a CATL spokesperson had described the company’s inclusion on the list as a “a mistake” and said CATL is a “privately founded” company and “is not engaged in any military-related activities.”

The spokesperson reportedly added, “We welcome responsible discourse on our business operations and take questions about our business seriously.”

Since 2021, section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 has required the United States Secretary of Defense to maintain a list of Chinese companies which could pose a threat to US national security.

The DoD website states, “Updating the Section 1260H list of ‘Chinese military companies’ is an important continuing effort in highlighting and countering the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] military-civil fusion strategy. The PRC’s military-civil fusion strategy supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by ensuring it can acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities. Section 1260H directs the Department [of Defense] to begin identifying, among other things, military-civil fusion contributors operating directly or indirectly in the United States.”

Although the list of companies has no legal implications or sanctions attached to it, it could pressure federal bodies such as the US Department of the Treasury into excluding CATL, the world’s biggest stationary storage and electric vehicle battery manufacturer, from public procurement.