China said Saturday it firmly opposed the United States adding several prominent Chinese businesses to its list of military companies, and that the move ignored the consensus reached during US President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month.

The Pentagon on Monday added several non-state-owned Chinese companies, including electric vehicle maker BYD, tech giants Alibaba and Baidu, to its list that seeks to identify Chinese companies it deems to have ties to the Chinese military, preventing them from landing US defence contracts.

By adding these firms to the list, "the US side has ignored the consensus reached during the meeting between the heads of state of the two countries in Beijing", a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Saturday in a statement.