Are there any documented cases of backdoors being present in Chinese hardware at time of manufacturing?

Probably, but you are asking the wrong question: Is it legal to produce non-backdoored networked devices or services in China?

The answer to that question in the US is within epsilon of “no” thanks to the cloud act.

Europe and China have passed similar laws. However, China has a reputation for passing laws then selectively enforcing them. Maybe if you get on the right side of the right party member, the answer might still be “Yes” there.

Anyway, the next question to ask is: Who would I rather backdoor my device?

I doubt the Chinese government cares much about me, and unless I vacation there it’s an international incident if they, say, hack my car and murder me by aiming it at a tree at 95mph, like the CIA apparently does now:

https://www.motor1.com/news/138679/wikileaks-claim-cia-hack-...

Of course, the US government banned cars from China. Presumably this is because they do not have the mandated remote murder network port open, or, if they do, the US doesn’t have the necessary permissions to access it.

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bryant 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Two just this year, CVE-2026-66747 and CVE-2026-11405.

	▲	linkregister 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Those are both great examples. I think this doesn't obliterate my point, though it weakens it. The manufacturer in CVE-2026-11405 is already out of business, and the one in CVE-2026-66747 is unlikely to continue as a going concern. Would Xiaomi or the CCP accept the reputational and legal risk of getting caught with a backdoor? Recall the CCP considered the arrest of the Huawei executive in Canada as an offense against itself.