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It’s unclear whether the studies Bloomberg saw — dating back to 2006 and discovered during a search of an online database used in part by professors to root out plagiarism among college students — encompassed every instance of Huawei-employee collaboration with the PLA. Many sensitive projects are classified or just never make it online. While researchers with both Huawei and the military published thousands of papers according to that database, only the 10 Bloomberg saw were joint efforts. And the company employs upwards of 180,000 people.

Tech companies and military agencies have been collaborating around the world for decades, generating many of the technologies that underpin the modern internet. In China, that public-private relationship is particularly close-knit because of Beijing’s sway in every sector of the economy. But Huawei consistently plays down suggestions that Ren’s background influences the corporation in any way, and says its relationship with the military is minimal and non-political.

The research papers show one area of overlap, at least in terms of personnel. While they don’t prove that Huawei itself has close links to the Chinese military, they do show that the company’s relationship — or at least that of its employees — with the PLA is more nuanced than its executives have previously outlined publicly.

There are many sources of funding, including from the military for research

Huawei has said it never discloses sensitive information to the government and wouldn’t even if asked. Ren himself has shrugged off Huawei’s relationship with the military since he emerged from semi-seclusion in January to speak with foreign media for the first time in years.