China Telecommunications Corporation, the state-owned giant behind China Telecom and the country's largest fixed-line service provider, has been removed from the Pentagon's list of Chinese military companies operating in the United States. The designation under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act had flagged it as a company with ties to the Chinese military, placing it alongside dozens of other firms Washington considers strategically linked to Beijing's defence apparatus. The removal from the Pentagon list does not, however, give the company a clean path back into American markets. China Telecom remains on two other significant US sanctions instruments: the Bureau of Industry and Security's Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies list and the OFAC Consolidated Sanctions List. These designations carry their own restrictions, including investment prohibitions and potential export controls that continue to limit how American individuals and companies can engage with the telecoms firm. China Telecom has been at the centre of Washington's broader campaign to curtail Chinese state-owned enterprises it views as instruments of Beijing's military and intelligence goals. The Federal Communications Commission revoked the company's US operating authority in 2022 on national security grounds, a decision that underscored how deeply suspicions about Chinese telecoms had become embedded in American policy. The partial delisting fits a pattern seen across several Chinese companies in recent years, where the Pentagon has adjusted its list following legal challenges or interagency reviews, while other agencies maintain their own restrictions. For China Telecom, which serves more than 390 million mobile subscribers, the remaining designations mean it still faces significant barriers in its relationship with the world's largest economy.