Tencent threatens “legal proceedings” if US doesn’t overturn decision to label it as a Chinese military company

Chinese megacorp Tencent has doubled down on its assertions that it is not a Chinese military company, saying that if the US Department of Defense does not “resolve any misunderstanding”, it will “undertake legal proceedings”.

In a public statement – which the company said it makes on a “voluntary basis” – it stressed the firm was “neither a Chinese military company nor a military-fusion contributor to the Chinese defence industrial base” and that while the allegation “does not affect [Tencent’s] business”, the the US Department of Defense made a “mistake” when it publicly classified the firm as a Chinese military company.

Initially, the company insisted that the inclusion on the list was simply a misunderstanding, but this subsequent statement takes a much firmer line, saying: “The Company intends to initiate a Reconsideration Process to correct this mistake.

“During the process, it will engage in discussions with the U.S. Department of Defense to resolve any misunderstanding, and if necessary, will undertake legal proceedings to remove the company from the CMC List. The company will make further announcement(s) as and when appropriate.”

As Tom reminded us when this first bubbled up last week, Tencent’s reach across the global video games industry is enormous. It owns League of Legends developer Riot Games, Dune: Awakening maker Funcom and UK outfit Sumo Digital, in addition to several of its own companies, such as Pokémon Unite maker Timi Studios. It is also in discussions with Ubisoft over a potential stock buyout.