The US Defense Department unveiled the designations just weeks after President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, with both sides seeking to maintain stability in the bilateral relationship.

Trump has since invited Xi to pay a reciprocal visit to Washington in September.

But the latest release could fan tensions between the world's two biggest economies.

The latest Pentagon update came months after it briefly released -- then withdrew -- an earlier version of the list without explanation.

The new list is largely similar to the version momentarily published in February, although two memory chipmakers were reinstated to the blacklist after having been removed from it at the time.

The re-added companies are ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies.

"This updated list of Chinese military companies is a warning to American businesses, all levels of government, and the American people," said Representative John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China.

He urged in a statement for US companies to "stop doing business with these threats to our national security" or risk "enabling China's military ascendance."

The companies targeted also cover some of China's key tech giants involved in artificial intelligence, including Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent. Tencent was already previously designated.

While the determinations have few immediate legal implications for many of the companies, it is seen as a move that could precede more punitive measures.

Other companies that were added include pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec and start-up Unitree, which makes humanoid robots.