Federal agencies were distancing from the Chinese PDF company Foxit

First on Fox: Foxit, a large PDF software company founded in China, has deleted any mention of its various American government customers from its website after Fox News Digital began asking questions about its government links and Chinese connections.

The company is developing PDF software for reading, publishing and signing documents, with customers ranging from companies to American agencies. Foxit was founded in 2001 in Fuzhou, China, by Eugene Xiong. His parent company – Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd. – is negotiated on the Shanghai stock market and oversees an American subsidiary based in Fremont, California.

Until Fox News Digital begins to press Foxit on its history, the company’s website has praised customers of the federal government – the anti -missile defense agency (MDA) and from the State Department to the Army, the Navy, Air Force, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at the US prices.

But after the request for comments from Fox News Digital, Foxit rubbed out any mention of US government customers on its site. The company did not answer questions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping illustrated at the Alvorada Palace in Brazil on November 20, 2024. Foxit highlights customers such as the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the State Intellectual Property Bureau and the National Standard Committee. (Ton Molina / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

During reports, several agencies confirmed that they had removed the Foxit products or no longer maintained active contracts with the American subsidiary of Foxit.

An MDA spokesperson said Foxit had been used on an isolated network “not connected to an operational anti-missile defense system”, but that it is no longer “in any MDA system”. The spokesman did not say that Foxit had been removed from his systems, but added that the team behind the initial decision to use the software is no longer with the agency and that an updated examination of all software is underway.

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The image shows a screenbrab of the Foxit customer page before it is rubbed. (Fox News Digital)

A source from the State Department said that small Foxit contracts had existed in the past but had been dismissed, but had not clarified when.

Before the website purge, Foxit even published “case studies” on work with citizenship and immigration services in the United States and the FDA. A DHS source, however, told Fox News Digital that Foxit is now “specifically identified and listed on our prohibited software list”.

The FDA manages trade secrets, sensitive data from clinical trials and even health information related to biodefense. The agency has not returned a comment request to find out if it still uses Foxit.

The Ministry of Justice also confirmed that Foxit had been withdrawn from its networks last year after a security exam.

Other agencies, including the office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the National Institutes of Health, admitted having received questions from Fox News Digital but have not confirmed the current use.

Foxit is difficult to follow in the files accessible to the public: government purchases can be recorded under distributors, integrators or resellers rather than by the company itself.

Fox News Digital identified dozens of requests for solicitation – documents the federal agencies in question when looking for offers for goods and services – which specifically mentioned the Foxit, army, navy, NIH, NASA, Department of Defense and General Services Administration software. Which of those who have transformed into finalized contracts are not clear.

A known Foxit contract with OSD expired in 2023.

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On its American website, Foxit emphasizes its head office in California and its “global” scope, without mentioning its Chinese list. On its Chinese language site, however, Foxit highlights customers such as the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Office of State Intellectual Property and the National Standards Committee. In 2023, he announced a partnership with China Media Group, which operated under the advertising service of the Chinese Communist Party.

Screengrab displays a list of Foxit Chinese customers, according to its website. (Fox News Digital)

Its Chinese website lists offices in Fuzhou, Beijing, Nanjing and Hefei.

American agencies generally contract through Foxit Software Inc., based in California, and not the Chinese parent, allowing Foxit to appear as an American company. However, Foxit’s parent company remains subject to Chinese law – including the national intelligence law of 2017, which obliges companies to help Chinese intelligence if requested.

An analyst wondered if the separation of companies could fully isolate the American subsidiary of the interests of the Chinese parent.

“It is particularly like the Tiktok argument. We are doing everything here, all the data is here, we have Tiktok USA. We are a Singaporean company, we have no relationship with the Chinese continent – apart from our business structure, which is almost entirely owned by a Chinese company,” said Joel Thayer, a prosecutor of technology and telecommunications based in Washington.

“Chinese companies are masters to hide their intentions through business and corporate infrastructure documents,” he said.

Foxit Idax.ai As a subsidiary, A company specifically adapted to sensitive documents to be reduced. “The solutions fueled by the company’s AI are intended for professionals from various industries, including health care, finance, real estate, law and government,” according to a statement of brand content in Ny Weekly.

Fox News Digital could not determine if Idax was used by government agencies.

Foxit claims to have 750 million users and more than 425,000 customers worldwide, with business centers not only in the United States and China, but in Japan, Europe and Australia, with plans to develop in Russia, Brazil and India.

Critics warn that even apparently routine data may have intelligence value.

“Even if Foxit is not used for secret documents, the information that the company could potentially glean would be invaluable to the CCP,” said Thayer.

“You essentially stop that the platform is not behind the veil, collecting a huge amount of data on contracts and services provided to our government,” he said.

Foxit originally positioned itself as a cheaper alternative to Adobe Acrobat. But Chinese technology observers warn that the discount could be accompanied by hidden risks.

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“This is invaluable information for one of our opponents-how much money is a contract is worth, what services are they rendered, what technologies do they consider, what they hire from people, what the government examines … competitors would kill for this information,” said Thayer.