China has strongly criticised the United States for adding several Chinese firms to a Pentagon blacklist, describing the move as an unjustified crackdown on its companies.

Speaking on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing firmly rejects what it views as Washington’s misuse of national security concerns to target Chinese businesses.

The reaction followed a decision by the US Department of Defense to include a number of Chinese companies, among them major technology firms Alibaba and Baidu, on a list of entities it alleges have links to or support for China’s military.

Lin urged the United States to reverse what he called its mistaken approach and warned that China would take necessary steps to protect the lawful interests of its companies.

The updated blacklist, released by the Pentagon on Monday, contains 80 companies and affiliated entities. The revised version closely resembles a list that was briefly published in February before being withdrawn without explanation. Two semiconductor manufacturers—ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies—were also restored to the list after having been removed earlier.

The development represents another point of tension between the world’s two largest economies despite recent diplomatic efforts to improve relations. Last month, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing in a high-profile summit aimed at easing bilateral strains and strengthening cooperation.

The latest Pentagon designation also includes several leading Chinese artificial intelligence and technology firms, such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent, which had already appeared on previous versions of the blacklist.

Responding to the designation, Alibaba described its inclusion as an error, while Baidu argued that there was no valid basis for placing the company on the list.

Although the blacklist does not immediately impose major legal restrictions on many of the affected firms, analysts view it as a significant step that could pave the way for tougher US measures in the future.