The White House "takes these cyber threats very seriously and is working day and night."
The Chinese holding Alibaba, which owns the marketplace AliExpress and its own AI model Qwen 2.5-Max, is transmitting data to the Chinese authorities, the disclosure of which poses a threat to U.S. security, according to a memo from the White House. According to the document reviewed by the Financial Times, based on intelligence data, the group provides "technical support" to the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) "against targets in the U.S." The specific targets are not specified.
Additionally, the report claims that Alibaba provided the Chinese government and military access to customer data, including IP addresses, Wi-Fi information, payment data, and AI-related services. According to the document, company employees shared with the PLA information about "zero-day" exploits—previously unknown software vulnerabilities that have not yet been patched by developers. FT notes that it cannot independently verify the information from the White House.
The newspaper also points out that this statement from Washington reflects growing U.S. concerns about Chinese cloud services, AI systems, and Beijing's ability to access sensitive data in the U.S. and use it.
One U.S. administration official stated that the White House "takes these cyber threats very seriously and is working day and night to mitigate current and potential risks and consequences from such intrusions using unreliable suppliers."
The White House memo appeared immediately after President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea and agreed to a broad truce in trade restrictions for one year.
"The claims allegedly based on U.S. intelligence data disclosed by your source are complete nonsense. This is a blatant attempt to manipulate public opinion and tarnish Alibaba," commented the information to FT from the corporation, without providing details about any potential cooperation with the PLA. The Chinese Embassy in Washington accused the U.S. of "distorting facts" following the FT publication, stating that China is improving laws to protect personal privacy and data in AI activities.
Previously, American politicians and experts urged the White House to close access to markets and technologies in the U.S. for 25 Chinese companies, including Alibaba, due to concerns about their alleged ties to the PLA. They argued that Chinese state programs require corporations to provide technologies to the country's armed forces. Chinese Huawei has already been blacklisted in the U.S., and similar risks remain for TikTok.
