diff --git a/cc/binary_sdk_member.go b/cc/binary_sdk_member.go
index 9b3235c..1d9cc54 100644
--- a/cc/binary_sdk_member.go
+++ b/cc/binary_sdk_member.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 	"path/filepath"
 
 	"android/soong/android"
+
 	"github.com/google/blueprint"
 )
 
@@ -137,7 +138,9 @@
 		propertySet.AddPropertyWithTag("shared_libs", p.SharedLibs, builder.SdkMemberReferencePropertyTag(false))
 	}
 
-	if len(p.SystemSharedLibs) > 0 {
+	// SystemSharedLibs needs to be propagated if it's a list, even if it's empty,
+	// so check for non-nil instead of nonzero length.
+	if p.SystemSharedLibs != nil {
 		propertySet.AddPropertyWithTag("system_shared_libs", p.SystemSharedLibs, builder.SdkMemberReferencePropertyTag(false))
 	}
 }