US agencies distance themselves from Chinese-founded PDF software

FIRST ON FOX: Foxit, a major PDF software company founded in China, removed any mention of its various U.S. government customers from its website after Fox News Digital began asking questions about its government ties and Chinese connections.

The company develops PDF software for reading, editing and signing documents, with customers ranging from businesses to U.S. agencies. Foxit was founded in 2001 in Fuzhou, China, by Eugene Xiong. Its parent company — Fujian Foxit Software Development Joint Stock Co., Ltd. — is traded on the Shanghai stock market and oversees a U.S. subsidiary based in Fremont, Calif.

Until Fox News Digital began pressing Foxit on its background, the company’s website touted clients across the federal government — from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and State Department to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. courts and the Department of Transportation.

But following Fox News Digital’s request for comment, Foxit scrubbed any mention of U.S. government customers from its site. The company did not respond to questions.

Over the course of reporting, multiple agencies confirmed they had either removed Foxit products or no longer maintained active contracts with Foxit’s U.S. subsidiary. 

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

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A State Department source said small Foxit contracts had existed in the past but were terminated, though did not clarify when.

Before the website purge, Foxit even published “case studies” on work with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 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 handles trade secrets, sensitive clinical trial data and even biodefense-related health information. The agency did not return a request for comment on whether it is still using Foxit. 

The Department of Justice likewise confirmed Foxit was removed from its networks last year after a security review.

Other agencies, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the National Institutes of Health, acknowledged receiving questions from Fox News Digital but did not confirm current usage.

Foxit is difficult to track in publicly available records: government purchases may be logged under distributors, integrators or resellers rather than the company itself.

Fox News Digital identified dozens of solicitation requests — documents federal agencies issue when seeking bids for goods and services — that specifically mentioned Foxit software, from the Army, Navy, NIH, NASA, the Defense Department and the General Services Administration. Which of those turned into finalized contracts is unclear.

One known Foxit contract with OSD expired in 2023.

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On its U.S. website, Foxit emphasizes its California headquarters and “global” reach, without mention of its Chinese listing. On its Chinese-language site, however, Foxit highlights clients such as the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Intellectual Property Office, and the National Standards Committee. In 2023, it announced a partnership with China Media Group, which operates under the Chinese Communist Party’s Publicity Department.

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

U.S. agencies typically contract through the California-based Foxit Software Inc., not the Chinese parent, allowing Foxit to present itself as a U.S.-based company. Still, Foxit’s parent company remains subject to Chinese law — including the 2017 National Intelligence Law, which compels companies to assist Chinese intelligence if requested. 

One analyst questioned whether the corporate separateness could fully insulate the U.S. subsidiary from the interests of the Chinese parent. 

“It sounds especially similar to the TikTok argument. We’re doing everything here, all the data is located here, we have TikTok USA. We’re a Singaporean company, we have no relations with the Chinese mainland – outside of our corporate structure, which is almost wholly owned by a Chinese based company,” said Joel Thayer, a Washington-based tech and telecommunications attorney.

“Chinese companies are masters of concealing their intentions through corporate filings and corporate infrastructure,” he said.

Foxit counts Idax.ai as its subsidiary, a company specifically tailored to redact sensitive documents. “The company’s AI-powered solutions are aimed at professionals across various industries, including healthcare, finance, real estate, law, and government,” according to a branded content release in NY Weekly.

Fox News Digital could not determine whether Idax has been used by government agencies.

Foxit claims to have 750 million users and over 425,000 clients around the world, with business centers not just in the U.S. and China but Japan, Europe and Australia, with plans to expand into Russia, Brazil and India. 

 Critics warn that even seemingly routine data could be of intelligence value.

“Even if Foxit isn’t being used for secret documents, the information the company could potentially glean would be invaluable to the CCP,” said Thayer. 

“You are basically banking on it that the platform isn’t behind the veil, collecting an immense amount of data about what contracts and services are being provided to our government,” he said.

Foxit originally positioned itself as a cheaper alternative to Adobe Acrobat. But China tech watchers warn the discount may come with hidden risks.

“That’s invaluable information for any of our adversaries – how much money a contract is worth, what services are being rendered, what technologies are they looking at, what are they hiring people to do, what the government is looking into… competitors would kill for that information,” Thayer said.