Behind the Screens - The Wire China

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By Noah Berman and Rachel Cheung

— June 14, 2026

InvestmentPoliticsSecurityTechnology

Illustration by Nate Kitch

As General Tommy Franks ordered hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to invade Iraq in 2003, he and his lieutenants tracked enemy movements and missiles on 10-foot screens connected using technology made by Jupiter Systems, a small California company.

Over the next two decades, Jupiter sold its products, including the processors that connect large wall-mounted screens, to every branch of the U.S. military, as well as a government lab involved with nuclear weapons research.

The Catalyst XL Video Wall Processor. Credit: Jupiter

To supply such clients, Jupiter must pass stringent government vetting. The Army bought more than $46,000 worth of Jupiter’s products from 2023 to 2024; it uses Jupiter software in 40 of its systems. Because of the sensitivity of the information it displays, a Jupiter processor used by the Air Force is part of a larger system quarantined from the broader internet.

Until recently, however, the U.S. government and military did not know that Jupiter was quietly sold in February 2020 to a Chinese company, Suirui Group (pronounced sway-ray). When it did find out, it initiated proceedings to guarantee Jupiter’s independence. When those failed, the White House ordered Suirui to sell the company. And when Suirui missed deadlines to do so, the government asked a federal court to sever the Chinese firm’s control of Jupiter.

…court records and securities filings show Suirui has explored sales of its own technology to the People’s Liberation Army and supplied a Chinese company later sanctioned by the U.S. for hacking.

The Wire China spoke to nine former and current employees at Jupiter and its parent companies, and examined more than 500 pages of corporate filings, court documents, and communications between Jupiter, Suirui and the U.S. government.

Suirui allegedly sought access to Jupiter’s technology and customer base as it explored its own sales to China’s military. The court proceedings, meanwhile, offer the most detailed look to date into the often opaque process through which the U.S. government screens transactions for national security risks.

Suirui founder and CEO Shu Cheng at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Image via Xinhua

YOU SOLD IT TO WHO?

Suirui, which said it was worth an estimated 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) in 2024, once had aspirations to be the Chinese equivalent of Zoom. Its founder and chief executive is an entrepreneur named Shu Cheng.

Suirui, Shu and their U.S. lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Headquartered in Beijing and backed by state-owned companies such as China Mobile, court records and securities filings show Suirui has explored sales of its own technology to the People’s Liberation Army and supplied a Chinese company later sanctioned by the U.S. for hacking. It also became an official software provider for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Months after Suirui bought Jupiter for $7.5 million, the group announced a new chief executive officer would lead the U.S. firm. It picked a person with deep roots in China and a name that is familiar to many people in the country and those who watch it closely from abroad — Sidney Rittenberg, Jr.

Sidney Rittenberg and Mao during the Cultural Revolution. Image via the Personal Collection of Sidney Rittenberg

Rittenberg’s father was an American aide to Chairman Mao Zedong and later earned millions helping American businesses including Microsoft and Intel enter China. Before joining Suirui to oversee product development and design, the younger Rittenberg had handled government affairs in China for a public relations firm, dabbled in private equity and worked at Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer best known for its central role in Apple’s global supply chain.

After it was bought by Suirui, Jupiter, which has around 30 employees, began sourcing more parts from China and hired more staff there, according to court documents. All the while Rittenberg feuded with Shu, he told The Wire China.

During this period Jupiter’s business in the U.S. continued mostly as it had before. By 2024, the company estimated that it held about 20 percent of the market for video wall controllers — the technology powering TV walls.

A section of President Trump’s order regarding Jupiter’s acquisition by Suirui, July 8, 2025. Credit: Federal Register

That same year Suirui’s acquisition of Jupiter, which was not filed with U.S. authorities, finally appeared on the Biden administration’s radar, when a panel of government agencies that screens deals for national security risks found out about it.

The problem about what to do next was handed to President Donald Trump. Last July, his administration issued an ultimatum to Suirui: divest all rights in Jupiter within 120 days. It was only the seventh time a U.S. president had exercised his...