Trump: Google Helping China's Military, Helped Hillary During Election
President echoes Marine General Joseph Dunford's warning of China collusion
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President Donald Trump warned that search giant Google is helping the Chinese military as the US tech firm continues to work on business projects in China.
The president also accused Google of helping Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections before trolling the tech firm by asking how it turned out.
"Google is helping China and their military, but not the U.S. Terrible! The good news is that they helped Crooked Hillary Clinton, and not Trump…." Trump said on Twitter Saturday.
The news comes a day after Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that Google is closely working with China.
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"We watch with great concern when industry partners work in China knowing that there is that indirect benefit," he said.
"Frankly, "indirect" maybe not a full characterization of the way it really is, it is more of a direct benefit to the Chinese military."
US Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan said there was a direct link between military development and commercial business.
Shanahan claims that Chinese entities are quickening Beijing's technological advancements by stealing US technology.
China has been at the forefront of increasing criticism over its alleged intellectual property theft.
The country has also been accused of stealing trade secrets from foreign companies, then implementing it into their devices and passing them off in counterfeit products of trusted brands.
Google is helping China and their military, but not the U.S. Terrible! The good news is that they helped Crooked Hillary Clinton, and not Trump....and how did that turn out?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2019
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'Dragonfly'
Google has continuously denied rumors of the controversial "Project Dragonfly," both publically and internally.
But last year, CEO Sundar Pichai "came clean" about Google's plans to return to China, which it previously abandoned in 2010 for clashing with the Chinese government over censorship policies.
Last October, a Pentagon-led report cited China as representing a “significant and growing risk” vital to the U.S. military's supply of materials.
The 150-page report discovered almost 300 vulnerabilities that could impact critical components and materials essential to the United States military.
The Pentagon's analysis includes a list of recommendations to bolster the American industry, which included expanding direct investment in sectors deemed critical.
The specific plans were pitched in a classified, unreleased annex.
