Washington has accused online marketplace giant Alibaba of providing technological support for Chinese military operations targeting the United States, according to a White House national security memo cited by the Financial Times on Friday.
The memo, which contains declassified top-secret intelligence, outlines how the company allegedly supplied capabilities to the People’s Liberation Army that the White House believes pose risks to U.S. national security.
The FT report did not specify which capabilities were involved, which military activities they allegedly supported, or whether the U.S. government is preparing a direct response. Even with those gaps, the disclosure was enough to rattle investors. Alibaba’s shares traded in the United States dropped 4.2% after the news.
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Alibaba firmly rejected the allegations. “The assertions and innuendos in the article are completely false,” the company said in a statement. It added: “We question the motivation behind the anonymous leak, which the FT admits that they cannot verify. This malicious PR operation clearly came from a rogue voice looking to undermine President Trump’s recent trade deal with China.”
China’s embassy in Washington echoed that position. Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said China “opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with law,” and condemned the U.S. move.
“Without valid evidence, the US jumped to an unwarranted conclusion and made groundless accusations against China. It is extremely irresponsible and is a complete distortion of facts. China firmly opposes this,” Liu said.
A trust deficit despite fresh U.S.–China negotiations
While Beijing and Washington have recently engaged in talks aimed at easing trade tensions and stabilizing relations, the political backdrop remains fraught. The accusations against Alibaba underscore what officials in both countries quietly acknowledge: there is still a deep trust deficit. In Washington, suspicion toward Chinese technology companies has hardened into a structural, bipartisan stance, with concerns that firms could be leveraged—voluntarily or otherwise—for intelligence or military purposes.
That unease has shaped U.S. policy for years, long before this latest allegation.
How it escalated: From Huawei to TikTok — and now Alibaba
The distrust first surfaced prominently with Huawei, which Washington accused of posing national security risks due to its telecommunications equipment. The U.S. placed Huawei on its export blacklist in 2019, restricted access to American technology, and pressed allies to block the company from their 5G networks. China denied the allegations, but Huawei effectively became the first major casualty of the U.S. crackdown on Chinese tech.
The concerns later expanded to TikTok, owned by ByteDance, with U.S. intelligence agencies warning that the app could give Beijing access to American user data. Lawmakers pushed for restrictions and even forced divestiture, arguing that the social platform could be exploited for influence operations. ByteDance repeatedly denied the claims, yet the pressure persisted, marking TikTok as the second major target in Washington’s growing list of concerns.
Now, the spotlight has shifted to Alibaba.
The accusation that the company enabled Chinese military operations—an allegation Alibaba flatly denies—follows the same security logic that drove actions against Huawei and TikTok. Even as negotiations between Beijing and Washington reopen channels for cooperation, U.S. policymakers continue to act from a position that Chinese tech companies cannot be fully trusted due to their ties to, or obligations under, Chinese law.
A new front in a long-running rivalry
Though the White House memo reportedly contains declassified intelligence, the absence of public evidence leaves much unexplained. U.S. officials have not commented, and the FT report did not indicate whether further details will be released. Still, the timing is notable. The suggestion from Alibaba that the leak was intended to “undermine President Trump’s recent trade deal with China” shows how deeply geopolitical currents run beneath the accusation.
Beijing sees the allegation as another example of what it sees as Washington’s weaponizing of national security to contain China’s rise. For Washington, it is part of a broader strategy to secure its technological edge and prevent potential adversaries from acquiring or exploiting advanced capabilities.
Whether or not the U.S. pursues follow-up action, Alibaba has already found itself pulled into the same fault line that engulfed Huawei and TikTok. And with the U.S.–China tech rivalry accelerating, the company may not be the last.