China’s military procurement system has suspended or permanently barred more than a dozen of the country’s leading cybersecurity vendors since 2024, according to new research from threat intelligence group Natto Thoughts.
The findings, based on public notices from the military procurement network cross-referenced with corporate disclosures and Chinese media reports, identify at least 21 enforcement actions between 2021 and 2026 tied to contract bidding misconduct rather than product or technical failures.
The penalties fall under a three-tier system used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA): a private warning list for early-stage concerns, a suspension list for confirmed but limited violations, and a public blacklist reserved for serious offenses that can carry lifetime bans extending to affiliated companies and executives.
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One example is Beijing TopSec Network Security, an indirect subsidiary of TopSec Technologies Group. In 2024, the company was suspended from specific services for three years after it was accused of collusive bidding on an Army contract, but investigators later expanded the suspension to cover all military branches. In January 2026, following a two-year probe, authorities imposed a lifetime ban on all military procurement, the maximum penalty available.
