Largest Chinese Chipmaker Sues Pentagon Over Military Designation

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s largest memory chip manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, known as the Pentagon, over its inclusion on a list claiming the company aids China’s military.

The company stated in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the Pentagon’s decision was "arbitrary," lacked evidence, and violated its legal rights to due process, emphasizing it has no ties to China’s military and its chips are exclusively used for civilian and commercial purposes.

Reuters reported that the department declined to comment in principle on pending lawsuits or ongoing legal proceedings.

The Pentagon added CXMT to the list of Chinese military companies during the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, and the Trump administration maintained the company on the list following an update issued in June of last year.

The Chinese firm is seeking through the lawsuit to overturn its designation and have its name removed from the list, which could impose restrictions on government contracting, along with commercial and reputational damage for listed companies.

CXMT told Reuters that being placed on the list since January 2025 has caused significant commercial and reputational harm, stating it turned to the courts to protect its business interests.

CXMT is China’s largest producer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, widely used in smartphones, computers, servers, artificial intelligence systems, and other electronic devices.

The company saw revenues surge by 874% in the first half of this year, and in the long term aims to enter the U.S. market, according to Reuters.

The lawsuit includes allegations against the U.S. Department of Defense and several senior officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadigan.

The company said it spent over a year providing information to the Pentagon to challenge its listing and request removal.

According to the lawsuit, the U.S. government published a notice in February indicating CXMT would be removed from the list, only to withdraw the notice the same day. The company later accused the department of failing to provide a sufficient explanation for reinstating the company on the list.

CXMT affirmed these decisions were not based on credible records, applicable law, or a justified decision-making process.

The lawsuit comes amid a series of legal actions by Chinese firms challenging similar U.S. designations; in June, Alibaba filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government over its inclusion on the same list.

In a previous case, China’s Xiaomi successfully had its name removed from the list in 2021 after pursuing legal action in the United States.

The CXMT case arises at a time when technological competition between the U.S. and China is intensifying, particularly in the semiconductor sector, as Washington tightens restrictions on Chinese companies’ access to advanced technologies and chips.