Tencent Labelled A “Chinese Military Company” By US Government

The US Department of Defense has officially included the Chinese mega-corporation Tencent in the list federal register companies believed to be linked to the Chinese military (thank you, Bloomberg).

Addition to the list does not entail any specific sanctions against Tencent, although it may affect the company’s ability to do business in the United States in the future, as US companies are discouraged from dealing with any of the companies named on the blacklist. .

Bloomberg reports that Tencent shares have fallen 7% since officially being added to the list, the biggest drop since October 2024.

Tencent spokesman Danny Marty released a statement to Edgewhere he called this designation a “misunderstanding”:

We are not a military company or a supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing does not have any impact on our business. However, we will work with the Department of Defense to clear up any misunderstandings.

In the past, the company has managed to be removed from the US government’s blacklist, which began after then-President Donald Trump ordered a ban on US companies investing in any businesses believed to be linked to the Chinese military. In 2021, the Ministry of Defense deleted by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi from the federal register just a few months after it was added. Judging by the above statement, Tencent hopes to achieve the same result.

Recall that Tencent is currently the world’s largest gaming company, owning studios such as League of Legends‘ Riot Games, Dying light developer Techland and others. The megacorporation also owns large shares in companies such as Epic Games, FromSoftware, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft, in which it continues to negotiate potential ransom.

In addition, this company is responsible for distributing the cut-down version of Switch in China. Last November, Tencent Nintendo Switch announced that it would be releasing stop all online services in the region in 2026shopping in the online store will close in March, and all code activations will end in May.