Under the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), lobbyists and others in the U.S. who represent foreign interests and engage in political activities must register with the federal government. According to FARA registrations from 2016 to 2020, Chinese interests have spent $143 million on influence activities in America.
Some major companies are representing Chinese companies and the Chinese government. We’ve listed them below. Under China’s communist system, there is no clear line between private companies and the ruling communist government. Companies are subservient to the Chinese Communist Party.
Note: Only political or quasi-political activities are covered under FARA. For instance, the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, which have popped up at more than 600 schools and universities, are not covered under FARA. Nor are controlled radio or television stations that broadcast Chinese government propaganda or the Chinese spin on the news.
$143 million is the tip of the iceberg.
FARA Data
U.S. Registrants
Spending 2016-2020
Chinese Clients
Aux Initiatives
$254,038
Wanhua Chemical Group
BCW Global
$2,689,311
Hikvision, Huawei
BGR Government Affairs
$217,037
China-United States Exchange Foundation
Blue Star Strategies
$70,792
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
Brown Lloyd James Ltd
$6,554,294
Government of China, China-US Exchange Foundation
Brownstein, Hyatt et al
$861,800
Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co
Burson-Marsteller
$350,910
Hikvision
Capitol Counsel
$638,634
China-US Exchange Foundation, US-China Transpacific Foundation