People walk past Alibaba logo on their building in Xuhuibinjiiang Park, also known as 'AI Park,' home to many Chinese companies involved in AI (artificial intelligence) research, in Shanghai, China, 19 March 2026. Photo by ALEX PLAVEVSKI / EPA
June 30 (Asia Today) -- Major Washington lobbying firms are ending their relationships with Alibaba, Tencent and other Chinese companies as a new U.S. defense-contracting restriction takes effect Tuesday.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Mercury Public Affairs and MO Strategies were among the influential firms that recently terminated contracts with the Chinese technology companies, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Public lobbying disclosures showed Alibaba had lost five lobbying firms and Tencent had lost four over the past week. MO Strategies said it would comply fully with the new Defense Department requirements.
The shift follows the implementation of Section 851 of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.
