Skip to main content

Microsoft to help moderate China-US tech firm meeting

China has a bit of a difficult relationship with American tech firms. Previously it thought those making games consoles were attempting to dangerously influence its youth and more recently it’s known that any digital firms doing business there were reporting all activity straight to the NSA.

On Sept. 23, we’ll learn just how deep those trust issues run, as a meeting between several heads of U.S. tech firms and Chinese officials is set to take place, with Microsoft as co-host.

Recommended Videos

This will take place during the official presidential visit of China’s Xi Jinping, at a time where there is tension between the two countries over hacking claims. This meeting wasn’t prompted by Microsoft or any of its contemporaries though, but China, which the NYT claims is looking to show its influence on the tech sector, despite America’s digital sabre rattling.

The concern is that this will make President Barack Obama’s tough stance on digital attacks look weaker than intended.

Officials expected to be in attendance include Robin Li of Baidu and Jack Ma, who founded Alibaba. Zuo Xiaodong, vice president of China’s Information Security Research Institute, will also be in attendance. From the U.S. side of the coin, we can expect executives from Facebook, IBM, Apple, Google, and Uber to all attend.

President Xi will also be visiting and meeting with Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, even before he visits Obama in Washington.

This further illustrates the growing gulf between American politics and its tech corporations. While the Obama administration is keen to push for harsher treatment of China, tech companies feel little loyalty to a regime that has made them police their own customers. While China might have an even more restrictive regime, they wouldn’t be beholden to it in the same way as their own government.

Jon Martindale
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
Big tech firms are teaming up to banish passwords for good
Silhouette of male hand typing on laptop keyboard at night.

For a lot of us, password security is the ultimate case of procrastination: We know we need to use stronger, unique passwords, yet all too often we end up booting the problem as a job for another day. Instead of trying to convince us for the 1,000th time that “123456” is not a safe password, Apple, Google and Microsoft have decided to try something different.

Today, the three tech giants have announced plans to work on a common sign-in standard created by the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium. If all goes according to plan, the new system could do away with passwords entirely, allowing you to sign in to apps and websites in a more convenient way.

Read more
Sega and Microsoft have formed a next-gen tech ‘alliance’
sega microsoft partnership sonic rangers

Microsoft and Sega are joining forces on a "strategic alliance." According to a new press release from Sega, the two companies are teaming up to explore joint ventures focused on a new generation of gaming. However, Microsoft has not acquired Sega, as it did with Bethesda.

In the release, Sega president and Chief Operating Officer Yukio Sugino describes the effort as "(a) strategic alliance that explores ways for Sega to produce large-scale, global games in a next-generation development environment built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform." This means SEGA is working with Microsoft to venture into larger titles utilizing Microsoft's cloud, potentially indicating a giant project on the way from both companies.

Read more
Skype lives on as Microsoft adds new features to take on Zoom and Google Meet
microsoft skype meetings office 365 feat

Despite the popularity of Microsoft Teams, Microsoft isn't quitting on Skype. The videoconferencing service is getting a set of new features, all of which are designed to make the app faster, more reliable, and modern.

Among the set of incoming features for Skype is the new call stage. Microsoft is adding new layouts, themes, and other ways to help you connect with folks at the other end of the call.

Read more