By Alexandra Alper and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration has scrapped plans to blacklist Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, four people familiar with the matter said, providing a momentary reprieve to Beijing’s top corporates amid a broader crackdown by Washington.
Senior officials in the administration had been considering plans to add the firms to a list of alleged Chinese military companies, which would have subjected them to a new U.S. investment ban.
But according to the people, who declined to be named so they could speak freely, pushback from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin put a freeze on the plans.
Treasury, State and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Writing by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
