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Alibaba and Tencent dropped by Washington lobbying firms as Pentagon 1260H ban takes effect

Section 851 of the FY2025 NDAA bars the Defense Department from contracting with companies whose lobbyists also represent any of 188 Pentagon-listed Chinese military firms; Alibaba lost five DC lobbying firms and Tencent four as the prohibition activates June 30

무역·AI· active 조용한 변화·누구의 돈인가 ·4 시각 · ·rbtfl 업데이트 2026년 6월 30일

Summary

Dozens of Washington lobbying firms terminated their contracts with Alibaba and Tencent before June 30, 2026, when Section 851 of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act took effect. The provision bars the DoD from contracting with companies that employ registered lobbyists also representing any entity on the Pentagon's Section 1260H Chinese military companies list. The June 8 list expansion added Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, NIO, CATL, and 61 other firms, bringing the total to 188. Faced with choosing between Chinese clients and US defense contracts, lobbying firms chose the latter: Alibaba lost five firms, Tencent four. Alibaba filed a separate lawsuit on June 24 seeking removal from the list.

Why it matters

The lobbying exodus strips two of China's largest tech companies of their direct policy access in Washington at the same moment they are contesting their blacklist designations in court, deepening the structural US-China tech decoupling and leaving fewer channels for Chinese corporate influence over US trade and technology policy.