Alibaba, the Chinese technology and e-commerce giant, sued the US government on Tuesday (June 23) over being placed on a list of businesses from China that the Department of Defence linked to that country's military.

The complaint was filed in the San Jose, California, federal court after the Pentagon expanded its blacklist of alleged "Chinese military companies" on June 8 to 188 entities, reflecting concern that China's military could tap that country's private sector for advancements.