New platform aims to halt CCP influence on states
Goal is to protect America's 'national and economic security
There’s a new tool available for lawmakers and American citizens to combat the threat of the Chinese Communist Party. Today, Heritage Action for America launched the website CounterTheCCP.com, exposing the ways in which China stands to harm America’s sovereignty and offering model legislation and resources to deal with that threat.
“To win the new cold war with China, the United States needs a comprehensive strategy,” Ryan Walker, Heritage Action executive vice president, said in a statement.
The new website “gives lawmakers and all Americans a menu of resources to thwart the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and protect our national and economic security,” Walker said. “Heritage Action has sounded the alarm on the China threat for years, and we are proud to continue leading this fight alongside grassroots conservatives across the country.”
Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots organization that boasts 2 million activists nationwide, has praised states such as Utah, where earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a bill that protects the state from technology platforms and networks that have ties to the CCP.
While some states and the federal government have taken legislative action to block China’s influence in America, a great deal of work remains to be done at the state level.
Heritage Action argues that the CCP threat is fourfold:
- Jobs: The CCP is seizing control of American supply chains, infusing them with China’s unfair trade practices, poor environmental standards, and the use of forced labor—all of which undermines American companies and workers.
- Farmland and Agriculture: Chinese entities are buying swaths of U.S. real estate, including farmland and property near military installations, threatening national security, the agriculture industry, and our food supply chain.
- Critical Infrastructure: Chinese cyberespionage is targeting all sorts of American businesses and sectors, stealing American technology and intellectual property worth tens of billions of dollars while targeting critical infrastructure, like power grids.
- Data and Technology: Chinese-controlled tech companies have infiltrated government entities, potentially granting the CCP access to data stored by government departments, educational institutions, and law enforcement agencies.
To combat these threats, Walker says, his organization is urging “elected officials at every level of government to do what it takes to keep Americans safe from our top adversary.”
There are three actions, according to the grassroots organization, that lawmakers can take to defend their states against China.
Protect American Prosperity
Investments in American energy bolster the U.S. economy, according to Heritage Action, while the green energy movement “only serves to enrich China at the expense of the United States.”
Environmental regulations have handicapped the growth of America’s energy independence while China’s economy stands to benefit significantly as a leading manufacturer of batteries, electric cars, and solar panels.
Instead, Heritage Action recommends states “should enact legislation prohibiting state agencies from enforcing regulations that further entrench supply chains with dependencies on China.”
And with growing concerns over Chinese-owned entities purchasing American land, Heritage Action is encouraging state leaders to support legislation that protects U.S. agriculture and farmland.
Similarly, the group is calling on lawmakers to do more to protect local and state governments and businesses from CCP cyberthreats and other security threats.
Defend American Privacy
States must end use of Chinese-controlled technologies to protect American privacy, Heritage Action advises.
Because companies like Lenovo, Lexmark, Hikvision, and DJI have ties to China, these companies are “obligated under Chinese law to obey the CCP’s commands,” according to the grassroots policy group, adding that this “poses a significant security threat to Americans.”
While the federal government has already taken steps to cut ties with CCP-controlled companies, Heritage Action contends that it’s time for states to follow suit.
Similarly, the group recommends that states should stop purchasing security and surveillance products and biotechnology owned or controlled by China.
Reduce CCP Influence
In order to reduce CCP influence on states across the U.S., elected officials “should enact legislation aimed at diminishing economic dependence on China, prioritizing sensitive or critical sectors, and reducing China’s influence among state governments,” according to Heritage Action.
Divestment from China and a prohibition on lobbying from foreign entities such as China in state governments will serve to weaken China’s influence on the U.S., according to the conservative organization.
Model Legislation
The Counter the CCP website provides lawmakers with model legislation to draw upon in order to achieve each of the policy recommendations Heritage Action is proposing.
“The CCP knows there are particular vulnerabilities at the state level and has been working overtime to exploit them,” said Jeff Smith, the director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.
“It’s great to see Heritage Action mobilize the resources to fight back, offering state lawmakers the resources to evict the CCP from their states and defend the prosperity and security of their citizens,” Smith said.