The U.S. Defense Department has added dozens of Chinese companies, including games and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL, to a list of companies it says have ties to China’s military,

The U.S. Defense Department said on Monday it has added Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL to a list of companies it says work with China's military, in a move set to escalate U.

The United States has labeled additional Chinese tech and social media firms as Beijing military companies, including multimedia firm Tencent and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, better known as CATL.