Lawmakers Sound Alarm on Chinese Infiltration
United States lawmakers have issued a stark warning about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) 'epic campaign' to infiltrate American local governments, citing the recent conviction of former Arcadia, California mayor Eileen Wang as a critical 'alarm bell' for national security. The warning came during a hearing titled 'China's Economic Espionage and Subnational Influence in the United States' held by the Select Committee on China on Thursday.
Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, in his opening statement, accused the Chinese government of undertaking 'an epic campaign' to undermine the United States at home. He described the campaign as spanning economic and traditional espionage, state-directed cyber intrusions, talent recruitment programs, information warfare, covert influence networks, legal and illegal lobbying, blackmail, infiltrating critical infrastructure, and transnational repression aimed at the Chinese diaspora.
Former Mayor's Guilty Plea Highlights Threat
The hearing followed last month's arrest and guilty plea of Eileen Wang, who was revealed to be an illegal agent acting at the direction of People's Republic of China government officials. Moolenaar detailed how Wang, who recently pleaded guilty and is now in prison, was found to be carrying out a CCP-directed agenda before her tenure as mayor. 'This Chinese government agent - acting at the direction of PRC government officials - took advantage of our free and open society to carry out an agenda on behalf of the CCP. This is an alarm bell for all of us that the CCP's malign influence must be confronted,' Moolenaar stated.
He identified the CCP's 'United Front Work' as a primary instrument of political warfare, operating through a sophisticated strategy of access, coercion, and incentives. 'What makes it uniquely concerning is that it is not simply a foreign intelligence activity conducted from afar; it is a comprehensive influence operation that reaches deep into communities, businesses, and institutions across the United States, often through seemingly benign cultural, academic, or commercial engagement,' Moolenaar said.
Soft Targets and Vulnerability Gaps
The hearing highlighted how Beijing is increasingly targeting 'soft targets' such as municipal governments, school boards, and local businesses to bypass federal oversight. Moolenaar warned that a significant 'vulnerability gap' exists between federal intelligence and local exposure. Because local engagements often occur far from Washington, they frequently unfold with 'limited oversight and inconsistent safeguards.' He called for a 'whole-of-society' response, urging federal agencies to share actionable intelligence with state and local partners.
The CCP utilises trade delegations and 'sister-city' relationships to identify and co-opt local influencers, pressures the Chinese diaspora by exploiting family ties in China to silence criticism or gather intelligence, and offers commercial benefits and political access to local officials in exchange for supporting Beijing's narratives. 'A strategic investment pitch to a mayor, a partnership with a local university, or outreach to diaspora civic groups can yield long-term advantages for the CCP's objectives,' Moolenaar said.
Bipartisan Concerns and Warnings Against Conflation
Ranking Member Ro Khanna echoed concerns regarding economic espionage, stating it is 'undisputed' that China has stolen intellectual property and forced coercive joint venture agreements. 'We don't steal China's technology. They shouldn't be stealing ours... We need to stop the offshoring of our jobs to China,' Khanna said, calling for bipartisan work on economic self-reliance. However, Khanna issued a sharp warning against conflating the CCP's actions with the Chinese-American community. 'We would not have Silicon Valley if we did not have the Chinese-origin top AI researchers in this country,' Khanna argued, noting that 38 per cent of the top AI researchers in the US are of Chinese origin. He specifically pointed to Jensen Huang, the head of Nvidia, as a symbol of the 'incredible value' the diaspora provides to American innovation.
Khanna emphasized the need to maintain a clear distinction between the 'legitimate threats' posed by the Chinese government and the treatment of Chinese immigrants and students. 'I am very, very passionate... that we do not in any way conflate [threats] with the harassment of Chinese immigrants, of Chinese-Americans, of Chinese students,' he added.
Testimony on Espionage and Legal Concerns
David Shedd, former acting director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, stated that China has orchestrated its state resources to launch a highly strategic campaign - relying on traditional forms of espionage and novel forms largely alien to Western security services - to steal commercial and technological secrets. He added that China's epic campaign of industrial espionage is a key variable explaining China's rapid economic ascent and military buildup.
John C Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), testified that 'broad, ethnicity-based suspicion of Chinese and other Asian Americans has too often substituted for evidence-based enforcement.' He cited examples of Taiwanese American scientist Wen Ho Lee and Chinese American hydrologist Sherry Chen to emphasize that broad-brush approaches targeting students, property owners, and researchers of Chinese descent undermine US security. Yang advocated for a targeted approach: 'We should use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer, and not engage in broad categorisations, but engage in that type of nuance that is necessary.'
Tax Code Exploitation and Land Purchases Near Military Bases
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith warned that the CCP is exploiting the US tax code to fund 'chaos and violence.' He revealed an ongoing investigation into a 'dark web of funding' involving US-based tax-exempt organizations tied to Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based tech mogul with close ties to the CCP. 'Foreign money from CCP-aligned sources has flowed into US non-profits protesting data centres in what we can only assume is an attempt to undermine America's position as the global technology leader,' Smith testified.
Witness Michael Lucci, chief executive of State Armour, warned of a systematic 'pre-positioning' of CCP-affiliated entities near critical American infrastructure and military bases. He detailed instances where Chinese nationals or state-linked companies purchased land near Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, and Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, home to the B-2 stealth bomber fleet. Lucci argued that the CCP intentionally exploits 'governance seams' between federal and state authorities to conduct surveillance and prepare for potential sabotage.
Higher Education and Student Groups Under Scrutiny
The testimony also labelled the CCP's infiltration of American higher education and research institutions as a 'crisis,' alleging that current security efforts are insufficient to prevent the transfer of intellectual property to the Chinese military. Lucci cited reports showing that Pentagon and Department of Energy grants have inadvertently funded research partnerships with Chinese entities linked to the 'Seven Sons of National Defence,' effectively modernizing China's military with US taxpayer dollars. He further identified Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSAs) as tools used by Beijing to suppress campus dissent and facilitate technology theft, urging state leaders to enact stricter research safeguards and treat these student groups as foreign missions.
Ranking Member Khanna pressed Lucci about past social media posts calling for the denaturalisation of Chinese Americans who obtained US citizenship through birthright. 'Do you believe these people should be denaturalised? It's US law that anyone born in a US territory is an American citizen. Do you believe that 1.5 million [people] should be denaturalised?' Khanna asked. 'I think that if they have practically zero nexus to the United States of America, other than they were born in a territory, I think it's worth considering that, yes,' Lucci replied.
