Congress tries to shut off China’s corporate money spigot

A recent Wall Street Journal report notes that lawmakers are acting to resolve entrepreneur Elon MuskElon Reeve MuskNASA announces renewed competition for moon mission contracts Equilibrium/Sustainability — Students create filter to remove lead from tap water On The Money — White House previews new sanctions on Russia MORE’s business ties to China, which they fear may include the People’s Republic of China connections to SpaceX. Rep. Chris StewartChris StewartMan punched, kicked by officers settles with Georgia county Overnight Defense & National Security — Washington gathers for Colin Powell’s funeral House Republican says as much as 40 percent of some intel agencies remain unvaccinated MORE (R-Utah) wants to hold confidential briefings on Capitol Hill to assess the severity of the situation. Sen. Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioSunday shows preview: US, allies up pressure on Russia; Jackson undergoes confirmation hearings Daylight saving change faces trouble in House Push to make daylight saving time permanent has longtime backers MORE (R-Fla.) introduced legislation aimed at rectifying the problem, telling the newspaper that “any company operating in China is going to be pressured and exploited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”

Musk drew criticism early this year for showcasing his new Tesla showroom in Xinjiang, where China keeps millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps. Only weeks earlier, President BidenJoe BidenDeaf Oscar winner Troy Kotsur: tempted to teach Biden ‘dirty sign language’ during WH visit White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre tests positive for COVID-19 House Jan. 6 panel makes contempt case against Scavino, Navarro MORE had signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, to restrict U.S. imports from the region.

Musk may take the brunt of the heat for doing business with the largest communist state, but this problem is not exclusive to the world’s richest man. Plenty of U.S.-based businesses and businessmen have cozied up to China’s genocidal regime. AMC, Smithfield Foods, GE Appliances and Motorola Mobility, among others, are or have been owned or controlled by Chinese companies. 

The problem, of course, is that all Chinese entities are legally obligated to spy for their government, a practice codified in China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017. This may be hard for some Americans to imagine, but it is not insignificant.

Consider, for example, West Taiwan’s Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) policy, which has been dissolving the barriers between China’s civilian research and military-industrial sectors as part of China’s goal to build a world-class military by 2049. Chinese leader Xi Jinping personally oversees the MCF, ensuring that organizations throughout the business and academic realms across the globe gather and conduct research — with the ultimate goal of boosting China’s military power.

China doesn’t just want a powerful military that looks good in parades — it wants to supersede the U.S. as the regional and global superpower, as the U.S. intelligence community has warned for several years. Perceiving this as a genuine threat isn’t a matter of jingoism and…