China is gaining influence over European and American media outlets through “manipulation of information and foreign institutions,” a bipartisan group of senators warned Monday.
“We are concerned that while some of these efforts may seem innocuous when taken independently, collectively they represent an attempt to increase the appeal of autocracy and strengthen Chinese leverage over U.S. allies,” Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., and 11 other senators wrote in a letter to President Trump’s national security team.
The 12 senators cited an array of examples, including a recent report documenting the Chinese Communist Party’s, or CCP’s, “sharp power” efforts to influence politicians within the European Union. But the effort extends even to the U.S., along with smaller countries that can more easily become dependent on Chinese investment.
“In American news outlets, Beijing has used financial ties to suppress negative information about the CCP,” wrote the senators, who sit on the Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Intelligence, Banking and Judiciary committees.
The letter cited a report from the National Endowment for Democracy, which put a spotlight on what it called a Chinese “sharp power” campaign against Europe.
“Political elites within the European Union (EU) and in the European neighborhood have started to embrace Chinese rhetoric and interests, including where they contradict national and/or European interests,” according to the report authors. “Rather than only China trying to actively build up political capital, there is also much influence courting on the part of those political elites in EU member states who seek to attract Chinese money or to attain greater recognition on the global plane.”
It’s not the first time U.S. officials have warned about Chinese propaganda or other “influence operations.” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who signed the Monday letter, has urged American schools to terminate programs sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has testified that Chinese espionage is a “whole-of-society threat” that uses “non-traditional intelligence sources.” Top U.S. generals, diplomats, and lawmakers also believe that China is funding foreign investment in order to acquire sovereignty over strategically-significant ports.
“The CCP’s long-term objectives with these operations are to undermine liberal democracies, erode the strength of US alliances, weaken the ability of democracies to work against China, supplant U.S. leadership in the world and shape the future of the international order,’ Cortez-Masto wrote.
The senators want Wray to develop “an interagency coordinated strategy” to thwart those efforts, and also want the participation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Hank Green.
“While nations around the globe seek to influence public opinion and policy debates beyond their borders, the nature of Chinese efforts goes well beyond those legitimate activities,” they wrote. “Indeed, we believe the nature and scope of China’s influence operations suggest it is time the United States look at them holistically, and respond with a similarly unified strategy.”
