CXMT sues the Pentagon over its Chinese military company designation, saying it isn't affiliated with the Chinese military and its chips aren't for military use (Reuters)

Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense to remove its name from a government blacklist. The company was initially added to the list in January 2025 and its designation was confirmed in June 2025. CXMT, established in 2016 in Hefei, China, manufactures dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips for civilian and commercial use, including mobile phones, PCs, tablets, servers and various consumer products.

In its court filings, the company stated that it designs, produces, and sells its DRAM chips exclusively for civilian and commercial purposes, with no military applications. The lawsuit was filed in a US district court for the District of Columbia and named US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and two of his staff as co-defendants.

CXMT's CEO emphasized that the company is not a military entity and has no association with the Chinese military, expressing that CXMT has faced reputational and commercial damage since its initial designation in January 2025. CXMT is listed as an entity identified as a Chinese military company operating in the US under a 'section 1260H' designation, which categorizes businesses engaged in commercial services, manufacturing, production, or exporting in the US.

CXMT recently surpassed Tencent in market capitalization to become China's most valuable company at approximately $520 billion. The company reported first-half revenues for 2026 of around $22 billion, a more than 870 percent year-on-year increase, driven by global memory shortages fueled by AI-driven demand for chips. US restrictions on semiconductor exports to China have pushed China to prioritize its own chip capabilities.

Earlier this year, China reportedly imposed restrictions on overseas travel for its top AI professionals amid its ongoing competition with the US over technological supremacy. A recent US judge also blocked the Pentagon's blacklisting of products from US AI giant Anthropic for government use, ruling that the action violated Anthropic's rights.