Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford and the acting Defense Secretary, Patrick Shanahan reportedly informed the lawmakers during a Congressional hearing and expressed concern over increasing Chinese coerciveness with U.S. firms

Top Pentagon officials have reportedly informed American lawmakers that Google has shown a lack of willingness to work with the US Department of Defense, however, the tech giant is planning to partner with China. As per trusted sources, Pentagon officials expressed concern about the Chinese state-owned companies having a ‘direct pipeline’ with the military.

Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford and the acting Defense Secretary, Patrick Shanahan reportedly informed the lawmakers during a Congressional hearing and expressed concern over increasing Chinese coerciveness with U.S. firms.

Shanahan further said that the fusion of commercial business with Chinese military is significant and it is an important issue for the U.S. He further stated that China’s USD 5 trillion of economy is owned by state-run companies and so the technology developed in the civil world is being transferred to the military world. The acting defense secretary also commented that there is a systemic theft of US technology that fast-tracks the development of emerging technology in China.

Shanahan, in his opening statement, informed that China’s defense spending is approaching that of the U.S., when the portion of U.S. budget going to military pay and benefits and purchasing power are taken into account.

General Dunford agreed with the statements of Shanahan and added that the work being done by Google in China is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military establishment.

Reportedly, the comments from top Pentagon officials came in the backdrop of a trade war simmering between China and the U.S. According to a report by Money Control, President Trump has announced that he is not in a hurry to sign a trade agreement with China, the talks for which have been progressing since December last year.