Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT sues Pentagon over 'Chinese military company' designation

CXMT is China's top maker of dynamic random-access memory chips, which are widely used in smartphones, personal computers, servers, artificial intelligence systems and other electronics. CXMT has an ambition to break into the U.S. in the long term.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadenazzi as defendants.

CXMT argues that the Pentagon's decision was "arbitrary", lacked evidentiary support and violated its due-process rights.

According to the complaint, the Defense Department first designated CXMT as a Chinese military company in January 2025. The company said it spent more than a year providing information to challenge the designation and seeking removal from the list.

CXMT said the Pentagon published a notice in February 2026 stating that the company would be removed from the list, but withdrew the notice later the same day. The company alleged that the Defense Department subsequently relisted it in June 2026 without adequately explaining the change in position.