
Microsoft halts China tech support for Pentagon systems
Microsoft said Friday it is making sure that personnel based in China are not providing technical support for US Defense Department systems, after investigative news site ProPublica revealed the practice earlier this week.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth confirmed that work on Defense Department cloud services had been outsourced to people in China, insisting that the country will not have 'any involvement whatsoever' with the department's systems going forward.
'Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services,' the company's chief communications officer, Frank Shaw, said in a post on X.
ProPublica reported Tuesday that the tech giant was using engineers based in China—Washington's primary military rival—to maintain Pentagon computer systems, with only limited supervision by US personnel who often lacked the necessary expertise to do the job effectively.
US Senator Tom Cotton asked Hegseth to look into the matter in a letter dated Thursday, and the Pentagon chief responded that he would do
so.Hegseth then posted a video on X Friday evening in which he said 'it turns out that some tech companies have been using cheap Chinese labor to assist with DoD cloud services.
This is obviously unacceptable, especially in today's digital threat environment.' 'At my direction, the department will... initiate—as fast as we can—a two-week review, or faster, to make sure that what we uncovered isn't happening anywhere else across the DoD,' he said.
'We will continue to monitor and counter all threats to our military infrastructure and online networks,' he added, thanking 'all those Americans out there in the media and elsewhere who raised this issue to our attention so we could address it.'

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Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump's hefty tariff on Brazil expected to push the country towards China
When Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was in China earlier this year for his third meeting with Xi Jinping since returning to office in 2023, he hailed the relationship between the two countries as 'indestructible'. That proximity will likely increase even more following United States President Donald Trump's announcement of a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imported goods for overtly political reasons, experts say. 'The reality is that, today, the relation between Brazil and China is much more positive and promising than the one with the United States,' said Tulio Cariello, director of content and research at the Brazil-China Business Council (CEBC). Trump's pledge to inflict a 50-percent tariff on Brazil, due to come into effect on August 1, sent shockwaves throughout Brazil, especially since under the so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs that Trump had announced on April 2, Brazilian imports would be taxed at 10 percent. That was also significantly less than percentages inflicted on other Brazilian competitors in the American market, prompting a sense of opportunity among businesses in South America's most populous country. Hence, the sudden decision of a 50-percent tariff was a rude shock, particularly for sectors that are big exporters to the US, such as aircraft, car parts, coffee and orange juice. The 50-percent tariff came on the heels of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, where leaders of developing nations raised 'serious concerns' about the increase of tariffs which it said were 'inconsistent with WTO [World Trade Organization] rules.' In a letter justifying the tariff, Trump directly tied the measure to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's current predicament, which he called a 'witch hunt'. Bolsonaro, often dubbed the 'Trump of the tropics', is facing trial for allegedly attempting to orchestrate a coup to remain in power despite his 2022 election loss to Lula. Trump also erroneously claimed a trade deficit with Brazil. Brazil has a deficit of about $7.4bn with the US, and a surplus of about $31bn with China. The political nature of the tariffs marked a sharp departure from Trump's usual rationale, drawing widespread condemnation across Brazil's political spectrum, and from China. 'Tariffs should not be a tool of coercion, intimidation, or interference,' a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the aftermath. By using tariffs for political leverage rather than economic reasons, Trump risks tarnishing the US's reputation as a reliable trade partner, experts say, making China appear more stable and predictable by comparison. 'China, to date, has shown no indication of backtracking on decisions or making sudden changes,' said Mauricio Weiss, an economics professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Strengthening Chinese ties The Asian country overtook the US as Brazil's biggest export market in 2009, and the two countries' trade and investment ties have only grown stronger since then. A notable signal of deepening ties came on Monday, when Brazil's Ministry of Finance announced plans to establish a tax advisory office in Beijing. Brazil only has four other such offices globally – three in South America and one in the US. 'The motivation is not politically driven, but rather justified by the growing importance of bilateral trade relations and the need to deepen cooperation on fiscal and customs matters,' Brazil's ministry said in a statement to Al Jazeera. China has sought to fuel its own domestic growth through access to natural resources and raw materials, such as oil, iron ore, copper, lithium and agricultural products. But since 2007, China has also invested more than $73bn in Brazil, according to CEBC. Much of those funds are pouring into strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure, agribusiness and technology. 'The United States still invests more heavily in Brazil, but China's investments are more targeted and coordinated between governments,' said Weiss. Chinese products are also becoming increasingly common in Brazil. Electric cars made by Chinese manufacturer BYD are now a common sight, with seven out of 10 electric vehicles sold in Brazil coming from the company. Particularly symbolic of China's growing presence to the detriment of the US was BYD's purchase of a massive factory previously owned by Ford in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia. The two countries have also agreed to explore transportation integration. Those plans include a bi-oceanic rail corridor linking Brazil to the Chinese-built port of Chancay in Peru. Xi's inauguration in November of the mega-port – where total investment is expected to top $3.5bn over the next decade – put China's regional influence on stark display. Other Latin American nations, including Peru, Colombia, and Chile, have also signalled their rapprochement with China, amid fears of Trump's intentions for the region. He has previously pledged to 'take back' the Panama Canal, including by force. But some have pointed out the deepening relation between China and Brazil does not mean the South American country will start exporting the goods it currently sends to the US to China, as the two countries buy very different products from Brazilian companies. 'Brazil isn't going to export manufactured products to China. That doesn't make much sense,' said Livio Ribeiro, a researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Economics at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Even then, Chinese investments could play a crucial role in enabling Brazil to boost its industrial capacity and diversify its economy, according to Weiss. 'Simply being able to produce more of these products domestically and for other South American partners will already be a significant growth opportunity,' Weiss said. Speaking during a state visit in China in May, Lula said Brazil and China will be 'indispensable partners' because 'China needs Brazil and Brazil needs China.' 'Together, we can make the Global South respected in the world like never before,' Lula added.


Al Jazeera
10 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Expectations low ahead of EU-China 50th anniversary summit in Beijing
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Despite the back and forth over scheduling, Beijing has billed the event as a chance to reset relations with Europe, said Marina Rudyak, an assistant professor at the Institute of Chinese Studies at Germany's Heidelberg University. 'What we see a lot from the Chinese side, and this is quite constant, is 'let's normalise the relations, let's focus on pragmatic cooperation, let's focus on where we agree and accommodate where we disagree',' Rudyak told Al Jazeera. In advance of the summit, Chinese state media published a positive analysis of EU-China relations – reports that are often seen as an indirect way for Chinese officials to comment on issues of the day. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun similarly described the China-EU relationship in glowing terms on Tuesday, as 'one of the most influential bilateral relationships in the world', during a meeting with reporters. 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Beijing lifted sanctions on the European MEPs in April in a gesture of goodwill before the EU-China summit, but other political fractures remain over China's ongoing and close relationship with Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Beijing is also widely seen as keeping Russia afloat economically amid ongoing international sanctions, particularly by buying Russian energy exports. The EU has also accused China of skirting arms embargoes by selling 'dual-use' goods to Russia, which can be used for civilian and military purposes. China has defended its actions, saying that it has long wanted to see a 'negotiation, ceasefire and peace' in Ukraine. Still, European officials were alarmed in June, when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told his EU counterpart that Beijing did not want to see Russia lose the war against Ukraine because it would free up the US's attention, according to Rudyak at Heidelberg University. 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'With these fundamental contradictions, prospects of any significant breakthrough at the upcoming summit are unlikely.' A close but bumpy trade relationship Another recent source of tension has been the EU-China economic relationship. China is the EU's third-largest trading partner for goods and services, but EU officials are concerned about their ballooning trade deficit with China, which doubled in value between 2015 and 2024, to reach 305.8 billion euros ($359bn) last year, according to EU trade data. The EU and member states have long accused China of engaging in overproduction and 'dumping' its cheap state-subsidised exports on the European market, but the issue has heightened recently. 'The view on the trade and balance in Europe is slightly different from the United States… where it's basically about who's going to be number one. This is a dimension that is not present in Europe,' Rudyak said. 'Europe is really concerned about its core industries, including the automotive. 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In reality, however, the EU seeks to balance both resisting American dominance and cooperating with the US, including supporting its efforts to contain China – for example, justifying tariff disputes as addressing 'Chinese challenges', rather than questioning US unilateralism,' Wang said in remarks shared with Al Jazeera. China wants the EU to stop portraying their relationship as one of 'competitive cooperation', and instead see it through the paradigm of 'cooperative competition', he noted. With expectations for a breakthrough low, Marta Mucznik, a senior EU analyst at the Crisis Group, said observers hope that the summit will at least open up channels of communication between officials from both sides. 'The EU doesn't expect breakthroughs from this summit but sees it as a chance to keep communication channels open with Chinese leaders while it works to carve out its geopolitical role and reduce critical dependencies,' she said.


Qatar Tribune
15 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Trump signals possible China visit amid trade, security tensions
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