ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s largest DRAM chipmaker, sued the US Department of Defense after being placed on a Pentagon list of Chinese companies alleged to have links with China’s military. The legal challenge comes shortly after Apple drew attention for seeking US government clearance to potentially buy memory chips from the company.
CXMT filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Washington, challenging its designation as a Chinese military company. The company argues that the Pentagon’s decision was not supported by sufficient evidence and has caused significant commercial and reputational damage.
CXMT was first added to the Pentagon’s so-called 1260H list during the Biden administration. The Trump administration retained the company on the list in a later update. In its lawsuit, CXMT said it has spent more than a year providing information to US officials to challenge the designation. The company maintains that it designs and manufactures DRAM chips for civilian and commercial applications rather than military purposes.
The company also pointed to what it describes as inconsistent treatment by the Pentagon. According to CXMT, the Defense Department published a notice earlier this year indicating it would remove the company from the list, only to withdraw it the same day. CXMT was later listed again.
The chipmaker claimed that its designation has already affected its business relationships and reputation. It is now asking the US court to overturn the decision.
CXMT recently became part of Apple’s supply-chain discussions. Apple explored buying memory components from CXMT and another Chinese company, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), for products intended for the Chinese market.
The move came as Apple faced a global shortage of memory chips and rising component costs. Reports earlier this year said Apple approached the US administration for approval and sought assurances surrounding CXMT’s regulatory status.
Apple’s interest has attracted political scrutiny in Washington because CXMT is on the Pentagon’s list of military companies. Although the designation does not automatically prevent private US companies from buying from CXMT, it can create significant regulatory and business complications.
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CXMT is an important player in China’s push to develop a domestic semiconductor industry. The company produces dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), a type of chip used in smartphones, computers, servers and other electronic devices.
CXMT’s case adds to a growing list of legal challenges by Chinese companies against US national-security designations. The dispute also highlights the broader technological tensions between Washington and Beijing, in which semiconductor supply chains have increasingly become tied to national security and trade policy.