China's Top Memory Chipmaker CXMT Files Lawsuit Against Pentagon Over Military List

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's premier manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, has initiated legal action against the U.S. Department of Defense. The lawsuit, filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to overturn the company's designation as a 'Chinese military company.'

The designation, which was first applied in January 2025, places CXMT on a list that can trigger government contracting restrictions and cause significant reputational damage. The company asserts that it has no affiliation with the Chinese military and that its DRAM chips are designed, produced, and sold exclusively for civilian and commercial applications, including smartphones, personal computers, servers, and artificial intelligence systems.

According to the court filing, CXMT spent over a year providing information to challenge the designation and request removal from the list. The company claims that the Pentagon issued a notice in February 2026 stating it would be removed, only to withdraw that notice later the same day. CXMT further alleges that the Department of Defense relisted the company in June 2026 without providing an adequate explanation for the reversal.

The lawsuit names the Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadenazzi as defendants. CXMT argues that the Pentagon's decision was 'arbitrary,' lacked evidentiary support, and violated its due-process rights. The company stated that none of the determinations are supported by the factual record, applicable law, or reasoned decision-making.

The Pentagon has not yet responded to requests for comment. This legal challenge mirrors similar actions taken by other Chinese firms, including e-commerce giant Alibaba, which sued the U.S. government in June over its inclusion on the same list.