# Alibaba and Tencent dropped by Washington lobbying firms as Pentagon 1260H ban takes effect
> Section 851 of the FY2025 NDAA bars the Defense Department from contracting with companies whose lobbyists also represent any of 188 Pentagon-listed Chinese military firms; Alibaba lost five DC lobbying firms and Tencent four as the prohibition activates June 30

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-29 · heads: The Quiet Shift, Whose Money · 4 takes · 1 lenses · 3 regions

## Summary

Dozens of Washington lobbying firms terminated their contracts with Alibaba and Tencent before June 30, 2026, when Section 851 of the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act took effect. The provision bars the DoD from contracting with companies that employ registered lobbyists also representing any entity on the Pentagon's Section 1260H Chinese military companies list. The June 8 list expansion added Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, NIO, CATL, and 61 other firms, bringing the total to 188. Faced with choosing between Chinese clients and US defense contracts, lobbying firms chose the latter: Alibaba lost five firms, Tencent four. Alibaba filed a separate lawsuit on June 24 seeking removal from the list.

## Why it matters

The lobbying exodus strips two of China's largest tech companies of their direct policy access in Washington at the same moment they are contesting their blacklist designations in court, deepening the structural US-China tech decoupling and leaving fewer channels for Chinese corporate influence over US trade and technology policy.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **Bloomberg** (United States, en) — Bloomberg first reported the mass exit, naming Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Mercury Public Affairs, and MO Strategies among the firms terminating representation of Alibaba and Tencent. The firms acted before the June 30 effective date to avoid being disqualified from Defense Department contracts they hold with US companies.
  > "Alibaba, Tencent Dropped by DC Lobbyists to Comply With US Curbs."
  Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-29/alibaba-tencent-dropped-by-dc-lobbyists-to-comply-with-us-curbs
- **The Japan Times** (Japan, en) — Japan Times coverage added context that the lobbying departures effectively cut direct Chinese corporate access to the US legislative and regulatory process at a moment when Alibaba's June 24 lawsuit seeking removal from the 1260H list was still pending.
  > "Alibaba and Tencent dropped by DC lobbyists to comply with U.S. curbs."
  Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/06/30/alibaba-tencent-dc-lobbyists-us/
- **The Next Web** (Global, en) — The Next Web explained the mechanics of Section 851: because DoD contracts prohibit lobbying firms from simultaneously representing 1260H-listed entities, firms chose their Pentagon-affiliated US clients over the Chinese accounts. Alibaba lost five firms, Tencent lost four.
  > "Alibaba and Tencent lose their Washington lobbyists as Pentagon rule takes effect."
  Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/alibaba-tencent-lobbyists-drop-pentagon-1260h-rule
- **WilmerHale** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20260611-pentagon-adds-65-new-entities-to-the-1260h-list-of-chinese-military-companies

## Across the graph
- Entities: China, Person:donald Trump

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