CXMT sues Pentagon over military blacklist designation

ChangXin Memory Technologies, China’s largest DRAM manufacturer, has sued the Pentagon over its designation as a company linked to the Chinese military. The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among the defendants and claims the classification was arbitrary, unsupported by evidence, and violated CXMT’s due-process rights.

CXMT was first added to the Pentagon’s Section 1260H list in January 2025 under Biden, and the Trump administration kept the designation in a June update. The company argues its DRAM products follow JEDEC standard commercial specifications rather than military-grade requirements, including standards for temperature tolerance, packaging, and testing.

In February, the Pentagon reportedly issued a notice saying CXMT would be removed from the list, then withdrew it the same day without explanation. CXMT says it spent over a year providing the Department of Defense with information to support its removal, but the designation remained in place.