US adds web and gaming giant Tencent to list of Chinese military companies

The US Department of Defense added Tencent and CATL to its Section 1260 list of “Chinese military companies,” signaling concern over China’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy; while not equivalent to the Entity List, the designation restricts DoD engagement and may trigger broader commercial and policy repercussions. The report highlights WeChat’s ubiquity and prior restrictions on government devices in Canada and recommended bans in Australia, Tencent’s cloud and collaboration offerings, and potential downstream impacts on supply chains and the gaming industry (e.g., Activision/Call of Duty mobile, Epic, PUBG), as well as Tesla’s supplier ties.