BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
The chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on China has called on Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), the company that owns the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, to end any ongoing business relationships with Chinese technology giant Alibaba, citing growing national security concerns following the company’s designation by the U.S. Department of Defense as a “Chinese military company.”
In a formal letter addressed to Monumental Sports founder and chief executive Ted Leonsis, Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican from Michigan and chairman of the House committee, requested confirmation that the organization would either terminate or had already ended its commercial ties with Alibaba and any affiliated companies.
The letter, which set a response deadline of July 15, comes as scrutiny of Chinese technology firms continues to intensify in Washington, particularly those accused of maintaining links to China’s military and defense establishment.
Moolenaar referenced the Pentagon’s recent decision to add Alibaba to its list of Chinese military companies, a designation the Defense Department says reflects concerns that the company’s technologies and operations could support China’s military-civil fusion strategy.
According to U.S. officials, China’s military-civil fusion policy is intended to integrate civilian industries, private businesses and advanced technologies into the country’s military modernization efforts, allowing commercial innovations to strengthen national defense capabilities.
The Pentagon’s list currently includes 188 companies spanning a wide range of industries, from state-owned defense contractors to major private technology firms. While inclusion on the list does not automatically trigger sanctions or prohibit U.S. companies from doing business with those entities, it often increases political scrutiny and may influence future government policy or corporate decisions.
Alibaba has strongly challenged the designation.
The Chinese technology company has filed a lawsuit seeking to have its name removed from the Pentagon’s military company list, arguing that the classification is inaccurate and unjustified. The legal challenge marks the latest chapter in the ongoing dispute between the company and the U.S. government over allegations concerning its relationship with Chinese authorities.
The Pentagon’s designation reflects a broader effort by U.S. policymakers to address what they view as China’s increasing use of private-sector companies to advance military objectives. American officials have repeatedly expressed concern that major Chinese technology firms could be required under Chinese law to cooperate with government intelligence or defense activities.
Representative Moolenaar’s latest request illustrates how those concerns are extending beyond traditional technology and defense industries into professional sports and entertainment organizations that maintain commercial partnerships with Chinese companies.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment has not publicly commented on the committee’s request. Company officials did not immediately issue a response regarding whether the organization intends to maintain or discontinue its relationship with Alibaba.
The Washington-based company owns several prominent professional sports franchises, including the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals, while also operating sports venues and media businesses.
Monumental Sports is not the only American professional sports organization connected to Alibaba.
Joseph Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba, is also the principal owner of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Tsai co-founded Alibaba in 1999, helping transform the company into one of the world’s largest technology and e-commerce businesses.
The House Select Committee on China has increasingly examined the relationship between American sports organizations and Chinese companies over the past several years.
In 2024, Representative Moolenaar joined the committee’s ranking Democratic member, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, in sending a bipartisan letter to the International Olympic Committee expressing concerns about the World Anti-Doping Agency’s handling of a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned performance-enhancing substances.
That inquiry reflected the committee’s broader focus on transparency, governance and China’s influence within international sports organizations.
The committee has also scrutinized Alibaba’s involvement in global sporting events.
Last year, lawmakers sent a letter to Kristi Noem, who was serving as Secretary of Homeland Security at the time, raising concerns over Alibaba’s sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee. Committee members questioned whether that partnership could influence sponsorship arrangements for the upcoming Los Angeles Olympic Games and whether additional safeguards were needed to address potential national security risks.
Lawmakers also pointed to decisions made during the Paris Olympics to reduce Alibaba’s role in certain aspects of the event, arguing that such actions demonstrated increasing caution regarding partnerships with companies facing heightened political and security scrutiny.
The latest letter to Monumental Sports underscores the expanding scope of congressional oversight involving Chinese technology firms and their commercial relationships with major American organizations. As geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to shape U.S. policy, business partnerships involving high-profile Chinese companies are likely to remain under close examination by lawmakers, particularly when they involve influential organizations in sports, technology and entertainment.
Whether Monumental Sports & Entertainment will alter its relationship with Alibaba remains uncertain, but the committee’s request signals that congressional attention on corporate ties to Chinese firms is continuing to broaden beyond government contracts and into the private sector, including some of America’s most recognizable professional sports organizations.
Original article
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