CXMT Sues US Pentagon Over Military Blacklist

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's largest DRAM chipmaker, has filed a lawsuit in a Washington federal court against the US Department of Defence, seeking removal from the Pentagon's Section 1260H list of Chinese companies with military ties. The lawsuit, filed on Friday, names Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as a defendant. CXMT was first added to the blacklist in January 2025 and retained after a review in June. The company joins a growing wave of Chinese tech firms challenging their inclusion on the list, following recent legal victories or interim relief for Hesai Group, DJI, and WuXi AppTec. Legal experts note that US courts have shown a willingness to scrutinize the government's evidence and hold the Department of Defence accountable. The CXMT case will test whether a company's ties to China's industry ministry or state-asset regulator suffice to label it as military-linked, and the extent to which such national-security determinations are subject to evidence and due process. This legal action highlights the escalating tensions between Chinese tech companies and US regulatory measures.