The U.S. government's so-called Entity List, or blacklist of Chinese companies, could be getting longer.

According to sources, the state department has submitted a proposal to the Trump administration to add China's Ant Group.

Ant, an affiliate of Alibaba, operates China's massive Alipay e-payments system.

The news comes ahead of a dual public listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which could be worth up to a record $35 billion.

The possible move from the U.S. comes as China hardliners in the Trump administration seek to deter U.S. investors from taking part in the IPO.

The latest swipe at China comes in the run-up to the November 3rd election.

Trump has made a tough approach to the country a key foreign policy platform.

A spokesperson for Ant said that Alipay is currently unavailable to American users in the U.S.

But the Trump administration fears the Chinese government could access sensitive banking data belonging to future U.S. users.

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Ant declined to comment.

In a recent statement to Reuters, it emphasised that only 5% of the company's business is outside China.

Some think the real-world impact of Trump's blacklist is questionable.

While curbing access to U.S. technology deals a blow to companies like Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, analysts say its impact on a financial technology giant like Ant is likely to be more symbolic.

Not least as it does not prevent U.S. investors from taking stakes in the firm.