Amazon allows Chinese military companies to profit off its online marketplace

Published April 20, 2025 6:00am ET



Entities that the U.S. government has designated as arms of the Chinese military freely sell their goods through Amazon’s sprawling online marketplace, both directly and through third-party vendors.

Since 2020, the Department of Defense has published an annual list of firms classified as “Chinese military companies.” The list documents corporations that are “directly or indirectly owned” or otherwise controlled by the Chinese military, according to federal law. “Military-civil fusion contributors to the Chinese defense industrial base,” corporations that knowingly collaborate with the Chinese Communist Party to develop military technology or serve as defense contractors, are also included under the designation.

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