Chinese memory-chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies has sued the US Department of Defense, reports Caixin. The company is seeking removal from the Pentagon’s Chinese military company (CMC) list after being designated twice without notice or a chance to respond.
According to the complaint filed on Dec 5, the Defense Department first added Yangtze Memory to the CMC list on Jan 31 2024, and again on Jan 7, 2025. Placement on the CMC list carries reputational damage and restricts access to certain US grants, loans, contracts and benefits.
Yangtze Memory said it spent more than ten months trying to engage with the Defense Department through outside counsel to understand the basis for the designation and to provide evidence disputing it. The agency, the company said, never responded. After exhausting what it called all reasonable administrative remedies, Yangtze Memory opted to sue.