Alibaba’s Zhangbei data center in the Hebei province, pictured in 2016. Credit: Imaginechina via AP Images
Major internet companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba have become global leaders in the multi-billion dollar cloud computing industry that, until recently, existed as barely more than a thought experiment. Now, it’s a $33 billion industry — every quarter.
Chinese regulations require foreign firms operating in China's cloud market to partner with a Chinese company, so Amazon and Microsoft — global leaders in cloud computing — have set up joint ventures with two Chinese firms: Beijing Sinnet and 21Vianet.
Cloud services are also a tricky area for cybersecurity. Concerns over snooping and stealing drive the global conversation as the industry has exploded over the last decade and a half. In early December, the Trump administration was reportedly considering blocking foreign cloud companies from operating in the United States.
This week, The Wire looks at the biggest players in the global and Chinese markets to see who’s providing the cloud infrastr
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On Thursday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Wang Wentao, the Chinese Commerce Minister, in Washington. It marked the first cabinet-level meeting in Washington between the U.S. and China during the Biden administration, and it was a signal of the Commerce Department’s increasingly central role in the current U.S.-China relationship. Usually, the Commerce Department is far from the center of anything, but as Katrina Northrop reports, the department is uniquely suited to address the China challenge.
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