Bipartisan group of senators raise concerns about Chinese efforts to undermine democracy

Amid China’s growing influence around the world, a bipartisan group of senators raised concerns on Monday about Chinese efforts to undermine democratic institutions, weaken U.S. relationships abroad and interfere with financial markets.

The letter was sent to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Hank Green. In their correspondence, the senators called for a comprehensive strategy to counter Chinese efforts to manipulate public discourse and democratic institutions. U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME), commissioner of the Congressional-Executive Committee on China, led the letter.

“Public assessments from our intelligence community, independent researchers and representatives of allied governments illustrate the tools China systematically employs in its influence activities,” the letter stated. “Organizations and individuals linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) use financial ties to political elites, propaganda filtered through local media outlets and academic institutions, highly managed cultural events, and even coercion of nationals of Chinese ancestry to manipulate democratic political environments to serve China’s interests.”

The letter continued that CCP’s long-term objectives are to “undermine liberal democracies, erode U.S. alliances, weaken the ability of democracies to work against China and supplant U.S. leadership” abroad to bring about a new international order.

Beijing has used financial ties to suppress negative information about CCP in American news outlets, the letter states, and multiple media outlets with direct financial ties to China have neglected to publish stories about wealth and corruption in CCP in recent years.

“In some cases, the vehicle for such influence has been through the leadership of Chinese educational and cultural centers on campuses, known as Confucius Institutes,” the letter continued. “While many Confucius Institutes offer services like language instruction, there is evidence some Institute leaders have sought to shape campus discussions of China, especially around Taiwan and Tibet. The intensity of the attempts at control was enough to cause multiple universities to close their Institutes.”

The senators requested information on the administration’s view on the threat of CCP influence operations, any inter-agency coordination to counter these activities, whether additional authorities are needed, how the administration assesses the effectiveness of U.S. diplomatic efforts to counter CCP information manipulation, and how the United States is helping companies and financial institutions maintain their independence.

The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).