US designates Tencent and CATL as Chinese military companies

Along with owning the popular messaging app WeChat, Tencent is a major name in the gaming industry, as it owns League of Legends developer Riot Games and has invested in many others, including Epic Games, Larian Studios, Ubisoft, and FromSoftware. Meanwhile, CATL is the world’s biggest electric vehicle battery maker, with its products appearing across EVs from Tesla, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, and more.

These companies don’t always stay on the Department of Defense’s list, as the US removed Chinese phone maker Xiaomi just months after adding it in 2021. Both Tencent and CATL plan to push back on the designations. “We are not a military company or supplier,” Tencent spokesperson Danny Marti said in a statement to The Verge. “Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business. We will nonetheless work with the Department of Defense to address any misunderstanding.” CATL spokesperson Fred Zhang similarly told The Verge that its inclusion was “a mistake,” adding that “CATL is not engaged in any military related activities.”

Update, January 6th: Added a statement from CATL.