Lawmakers Ask to Designate Deepseek, Xiaomi as Aiding Chinese Military

Nine lawmakers have sent a letter to War Secretary Pete Hegseth asking him to add several Chinese technology companies to a list of firms kept by the War Department for allegedly aiding the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) military.

The Dec. 18 letter regarding these nonmilitary technology firms states that they are contributing to the “modernization, internal-security operations, and power-projection capabilities” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

In 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act established a list to be maintained by the Department of Defense (now the War Department) of all Chinese military entities. It was intended to prevent the U.S. government from inadvertently aiding the CCP’s military, surveillance, and intelligence capabilities.

The lawmaker’s request includes artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek, which, according to a report from the Jamestown Foundation, has defense contracts with the PLA and other Chinese entities worth tens of millions of yuan, or millions of U.S. dollars.

The lawmakers who sent the letter are the chairmen of nine different committees in Congress, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.).

According to the report, a PLA procurement website shows that from April to October, “dozens of distinct procurement documents have explicitly called for tools based on AI models created by DeepSeek.”

The lawmakers also noted that DeepSeek is becoming integrated with Chinese policing and public security networks, “where it is embedded in video-surveillance platforms to analyze faces, vehicles, and crowd behavior” and used for bringing together case information, generating reports, and helping on-the-ground officers make decisions, according to their letter.

The lawmakers are also asking for Chinese cellphone maker Xiaomi to be added back to the list. In 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia nullified an earlier listing of Xiaomi on the list, finding insufficient documentation of its affiliation with the Chinese military.

The lawmakers claim that Xiaomi is directly involved in dual-use robotics used in manufacturing defense supplies and is also collaborating with People’s Liberation Army medical research institutions.

The letter acknowledged the department’s addition of Chinese internet giant Tencent in January to the list of Chinese military entities. They also applauded the department for the recent planned additions of Alibaba, Baidu, and battery manufacturer BYD.

Additional companies that the lawmakers asked to be listed include WuXi AppTec, WuXi Biologics, WuXi XDC, GenScript Group, Tiandy Technologies, Unitree Robotics, Livox, LeiShen, RoboSense, CloudMinds, Beijing Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, BOE Technology Group, Tianma Microelectronics, Hua Hong Semiconductor, Shennan Circuits Co., Kingsemi Co., and Gotion High-Tech.

DeepSeek and Xiaomi did not respond to a request for comment regarding allegations that they work with the Chinese military.