DOD Removing Chinese Tech Firm From Chinese Military Company List, Report Says

The Defense Department will remove Hesai Technology, the largest Chinese lidar company by sales, from its list of Chinese companies that it said have ties to that country’s military (see 2402010018 and 2402090014), the Financial Times reported Aug. 13. The Pentagon made the decision to remove Hesai from the 1260H List after government lawyers expressed concerns about whether the listing would hold up in court, the report said. Hesai sued the agency over the listing in May. A Pentagon spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Select Committee on China, said Aug. 13 that lidar is “a foundational technology of the future and one we cannot let our adversaries control.” If the U.S allows Chinese government affiliated companies “like Hesai to dominate our market, we will cede our vehicles, factories, ports, and other critical infrastructure to direct [Chinese Communist Party] surveillance and manipulation,” he said in a statement posted to the committee’s account on X.