Congressional committee on China asks Wizards and Capitals owner to cut ties with Alibaba

The owner of Washington’s NBA and NHL teams received a letter from the chair of the U.S. House Select Committee on China asking him to cut ties with Alibaba, the Chinese tech giant that has gone to court to dispute the Pentagon’s recent designation of the corporation as a “Chinese military company.”

“I would appreciate your confirmation that MSE will discontinue or has already discontinued any ongoing business relationship with Alibaba and its affiliates,” Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., wrote to Ted Leonsis, whose company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owns the Washington Wizards and Capitals.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, references the U.S. Defense Department’s decision last month to designate Alibaba as a Chinese military company with a mission to “support China’s military-civil fusion.” The request included a July 15 deadline.

Alibaba has since sued to have its name removed from the list of companies on the Pentagon’s list, which includes 188 entities ranging from state-owned defense businesses to private-sector tech companies like Alibaba.

The list signifies the growing worry among U.S. officials of Beijing’s strategy of harnessing the strength of non-state businesses for military purposes.

Officials from MSE did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.

MSE isn’t the only American professional sports team with ties to Alibaba. Joseph Tsai, who owns the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA’s New York Liberty, co-founded the Chinese company in 1999.

The House committee, formed in 2023, previously has taken an interest in sports. In 2024, Moolenaar and ranking Democratic member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee raising concerns about the World Anti-Doping Agency’s handling of a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for performance enhancers.

Last year, the committee sent a letter to Kristi Noem, then the secretary of Homeland Security, stating its concern over Alibaba’s sponsorship deal with the IOC and whether that would lead the Los Angeles Olympics to make deals with the tech company.

The letter referenced moves by the Paris Olympics to limit Alibaba’s role.

A few weeks after the letter was sent, LA Olympic organizers announced that one of Alibaba’s competitors in tech, Google, would serve as official cloud provider of those Games.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games