TikTok Was Only the Beginning of CCP Interference in the U.S. | Opinion

China’s President Xi Jinping speaks at the “Senior Chinese Leader Event” held by the National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, California, on November 15, 2023. The APEC Summit takes place through November 17.

When the House of Representatives decided to force the Chinese parent company of TikTok to divest, it opened up a very important conversation that many people refuse to have. Throughout the United States, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is seeking to grow its influence, and TikTok is currently the most visible example.

But TikTok is not alone.

In my home state of Michigan, about an hour north of where my family lives, Gotion, a Chinese-owned company, is trying to build an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facility. The site of this new facility, which spans hundreds of acres, is just 100 miles from a major military installation, Camp Grayling.

The issue with the Gotion plant is not necessarily that the company is building EV batteries, though there certainly are issues with this push from the federal government (an opinion for another time).

The issue is the federal government and Michigan’s state government handing over tax breaks and billions of dollars in subsidies to a Chinese company with clear allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.

Aside from the obvious security concerns of the plant being built in such close proximity to military installations, Chinese-owned companies frequently violate the environmental standards of the communities they invest in, jeopardizing the health and safety of their neighbors.

Throughout Michigan, there is a major push to get Gotion to back out. A company that disregards our values, our environment, and our national security concerns hard-working Michiganders who do not want China—which, in the hearts and minds of a majority of Americans, is the biggest threat to our country—building in their backyard.

Michigan residents are so concerned about the CCP’s rapidly growing influence that five of the seven town officials in Green Charter Township who supported the construction of this plant were voted out last November.

With political leaders on both sides of the aisle fighting to bring manufacturing back to the United States, we need to be careful about who we are encouraging to produce in America.

When we encourage manufacturers to bring their operations back home, we must also encourage them to leave behind the practices and entanglements of foreign adversaries.

When I played baseball for Eastern Michigan University, one of the requirements for joining the transfer portal was that the student leave their old team behind and commit to our team. The same should be required for companies that bring manufacturing jobs to our area.

But the problems don’t stop at manufacturing investment.

One of the greatest threats to our national security is the collection and redistribution of our intellectual property—something China is all too familiar with. The United States is an innovator. We design, build, and invent things that make a positive difference in the world.

The world knows China is a replicator. It steals from its adversaries and manipulates products and designs for its own profit. It steals our ideas and products and replicates them at lower quality with higher margins.

It also uses artificial intelligence, social media platforms, and technological advances to spy on average Americans. Beijing has perfected this surveillance system, and is now setting its focus on influencing elected officials and weaponizing social media platforms against members of Congress.

Chinese state-backed entities pose a threat to the United States, and need to be watched closely to protect our interests and our people.

If we do not protect our personal data or if we allow foreign corporations backed by adversarial governments to buy farmland and build in our communities, then we put the safety of every American at risk.

China poses a very real and very serious threat to the United States. Washington should be doing everything in its power to make sure foreign adversaries stop targeting our children, buying our farmland, and building plants in our country.

For nearly 20 years, I have advised my clients on how to take measured and appropriate risks to protect their retirement. The risk of allowing our adversaries to grow their influence within our own borders comes with no reward.

Taking steps to prevent TikTok from remaining under CCP control was a necessary first step. But with companies like it expanding in influence and resources, more needs to be done to protect the integrity of our country.

Michael Markey is the Republican candidate for Michigan’s Third Congressional District.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

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