US Briefly Names Alibaba, Baidu as Firms Aiding China’s Military

The Pentagon added Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., BYD Co., Baidu Inc. and TP-Link Technologies Co. to a list of companies that aid the Chinese military – before withdrawing it minutes later without explanation.

The moves on Friday roiled shares of the affected listed companies and left analysts wondering about the administration’s intentions. If the list is reposted, they said it would be a show of strength ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected trip to China and meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in April.

The updated list, which the US Federal Register a short while later ...