Microsoft is now changing its workforce assignments, and it will no longer assign China-based engineers to work on products and services that are being used by the US Department of Defense.
This came after a recent exposé report, which discovered that Microsoft employed engineers in China and tasked them to work on the company's services utilized by the Pentagon.
The report has also revealed that people who were monitoring the work done by these China outsourced engineers are not qualified, prompting criticism against Microsoft.
Microsoft: No More China-Based Engineers on DoD
In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, 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…
— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) July 18, 2025
Microsoft Chief Communications Officer Frank X. Shaw shared a new post on X which claims that the software company will now cease assigning and using China-based engineers to work on technology used by the US Department of Defense.
Shaw claims that this latest change is in response to the concerns raised by the US Defense regarding the tech they used that were worked on by mainland Chinese engineers.
Shaw says that with this latest change, they are assuring that no China-based engineering teams will work and provide technical assistance to the services they deliver to the US Defense.
It was not revealed if there had been significant issues raised regarding the presence of China-based engineers working on services used by the Department of Defense or if it was a national security concern.
US Defense Criticizes Microsoft for 'Digital Escorts'
According to TechCrunch, the issue started when Pro Publica shared a report after their discovery of China-based engineering teams helping maintain Microsoft's cloud computing systems for the US DoD.
The report from Pro Publica also revealed that "digital escorts" or US citizens with security clearances monitor the work of the China-based teams, but they sometimes lacked expertise in doing so.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth then slammed this setup on X in response to the report, saying that China or any other foreign engineers should not be allowed to access or maintain the DoD's systems.
The US vs. China Rivalry on Technology
The United States has had a long rivalry with China in terms of technology, and the animosity between the two countries has evolved greatly in recent years, especially with the significant bans. Last year, the United States banned the likes of ZTE, Huawei, and other telecoms with Chinese influence from being used in the country, citing national security concerns on these services.
Under the Joe Biden administration, tensions between the US and China grew significantly as the government heightened the restrictions placed against the East Asian superpower's access to American-made technology. This centers on the chip restrictions against China, which prevented the likes of Huawei and more from having access to smartphones and AI processors to advance their tech.
However, it did not end with the Biden administration as current US President Donald J. Trump has imposed the infamous import tariffs, which heavily taxed all incoming products from different countries, particularly China.
Beijing has since expressed its dismay regarding these decisions made by Washington, retaliating with its restrictions against the government, among other responses.
Originally published on Tech Times
Join the Conversation