White House memo claims Alibaba is helping Chinese military target US

A leaked White House memo claims Alibaba is supporting Chinese military operations against U.S. targets, according to the Financial Times. The memo alleges Alibaba provides tech and cloud infrastructure that aids China’s military efforts — a charge the company firmly denies.

“The assertions… are completely false,” Alibaba told CNBC, calling it a “malicious PR operation” intended to undermine President Trump’s recent trade deal with China.

The memo has not been published and remains unverified. The White House has not commented.

Alibaba shares dropped 3.78% in the U.S. following the report, before rebounding slightly in Hong Kong. Analysts say the reaction reflects growing fears of new U.S. sanctions on Chinese AI players.

The memo surfaces just as Alibaba’s Qwen open-source AI model gains traction in the U.S., competing with models from OpenAI and Anthropic. Alibaba also has growing exposure via its cloud services, raising national security concerns.

Alibaba reports earnings on Nov. 25. Expect close attention to: U.S. cloud business, regulatory risks, management response to the leak