They license the software to run the cloud , they don’t act run it . Basically a white labeled solution for DC software like OpenStack This is not a new idea a

They license the software to run the cloud , they don’t act run it . Basically a white labeled solution for DC software like OpenStack This is not a new idea and is how Azure(or AWS) always operated in China. The Azure Fabric software is licensed to DCs owned and operated by 21vianet a Chinese company. Microsoft has no control over what happens there. No amount of legal[1] US pressure can make Microsoft give access to those DCs as they don’t have it in the first place This is why you cannot just provision hardware in China in AWS/Azure, you have to enter into separate contract with the Chinese operator first and comply with any government restrictions that the Chinese state may require [1] illegal/unauthorized tapping is a different matter and preventing that is not the intent of sovereign clouds .