By Michael Martina, David Shepardson and Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Defense Department said on Monday it has added Chinese tech giants including gaming and social media leader Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL to a list of firms it says work with China's military.

Tencent’s shares plunged nearly 10 percent after it was designated a military company. The Chinese battery manufacturer CATL was also added to the list.

The United States has labeled additional Chinese tech and social media firms as Beijing military companies, including multimedia firm Tencent and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, better known as CATL.

The U.S. Defense Department has added dozens of Chinese companies, including games and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL, to a list of companies it says have ties to China’s military,

The US has added several Chinese technology companies, including gaming and social media giant Tencent and battery maker CATL, to a list of businesses it says work with China's military. The list serves as a warning to American companies and organisations about the risks of doing business with Chinese entities.

The gaming and social media group, which owns ubiquitous Chinese messaging app WeChat, was added to a list of dozens of companies the defence department considers to be working with the Chinese military directly or indirectly,