China’s three major mobile operators were once again the subject of media revelations of US investigations into their activities, with Reuters reporting an ongoing probe into the trio’s cloud and internet businesses in the country.

The news publication noted authorities in the US were looking into whether China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom’s IT and networking activities in the country put local data at risk of being sent to China.   

Investigations are apparently being undertaken by the US Department of Commerce with the process more advanced in the cases of China Mobile and China Telecom.

Reuters reported the trio have small businesses remaining in the country with, among these, providing cloud services and wholesale internet traffic routing.

US regulators have already placed a number of restrictions on China’s major mobile and technology companies alongside removing the trio of operators’ listings from the New York Stock Exchange, as part of a prolonged campaign under the guise of national security concerns.  

China has regularly accused the US of “politicising business engagement” and misrepresenting national security in response to various bans, investment and export restrictions. China has also reportedly hit back and placed curbs on some US tech.