Biden Stalls Measures to Curb Chinese Influence

Upon taking office, President Biden immediately put the brakes on several initiatives to protect America from the Chinese Communist Party that had begun under the Trump administration.

• Biden nixed an executive order to require universities to disclose their relationships with CCP-funded Confucius Institutes. These “Institutes” are propaganda outlets masquerading as cultural understanding programs. Universities are a major target of the CCP for both espionage and influence. The Department of Education has found universities across the country are failing to report donations from China, in violation of federal law. Transparency is a necessity.
• Biden delayed the full implementation of a rule banning investment in Chinese-controlled companies linked to the Chinese military. American money should not be helping an adversarial government’s army, but some on Wall Street who want the opportunity to invest in these companies object to the restriction.
• Biden also suspended an order aimed at preventing Chinese equipment from being used in our power grid. Chinese-made equipment could be engineered with backdoor vulnerabilities that can be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese equipment belongs nowhere near our sensitive infrastructure, any more than we would want our tanks and missiles made in China.

While Biden has publicly criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s actions inside China, including its mistreatment of Uighurs and Hong Kong, there is little we can do about these issues. Alternatively, Biden can support domestic policies to better secure America. The ban on investment in Chinese military-linked companies could be expanded to all state-owned companies, which are extensions of the Chinese Communist Party. A majority of American also support limiting the number of Chinese students studying at U.S. universities–where they can become assets for stealing cutting-edge technology or other sensitive information.

Biden needs to do so without further delay.