China top memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense challenging its designation as a Chinese military company — a move that could set legal precedent for dozens of other Chinese tech firms fighting Pentagon blacklists.
CXMT, whose revenue spiked 874 percent in the first half of 2026, argued in its complaint that the Pentagon decision was arbitrary, lacked evidentiary support, and violated its due-process rights. The company said it designs, produces, and sells DRAM chips for civilian and commercial use, not for military applications.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadenazzi as defendants. The Pentagon declined to comment on pending litigation.
According to the complaint, CXMT spent more than a year providing the Pentagon with information to challenge the designation. The Pentagon published a notice in February stating that CXMT would be removed from the list, but withdrew the notice the same day. The company alleged the Defense Department subsequently failed to adequately explain the relisting decision.
The designation was first imposed under the Biden administration and maintained by the Trump administration in a June update. Being on the list can trigger U.S. government contracting restrictions and cause significant reputational damage.
CXMT case mirrors similar legal challenges by other Chinese firms. Alibaba sued the U.S. government in June over its own listing, while smartphone and EV maker Xiaomi successfully got itself removed in 2021 through a similar court challenge.
The outcome could influence how the Pentagon designates Chinese companies going forward, especially as semiconductor tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate.
