China owns America

OPINION:

Nearly a decade ago, I launched a public information campaign called “China Owns US,” exposing America’s dependence on China as China grew into an ever-present national security threat. Years later and after much hand-wringing, China still owns America — or at least more of it than you would think.

U.S. citizens are dependent on Chinese power in agriculture, energy, medicine and other sectors. Today, about 5,000 Chinese-owned companies operate in the U.S., and the number of Chinese firms entering the American market increases by 8% every year.

Chinese investors and firms own controlling stakes in thousands of U.S. companies, including GE Appliances, Smithfield Foods and even the Waldorf Astoria hotel chain. Through Smithfield alone, the Chinese-owned WH Group controls 25% of American pork processing.

All of it may as well be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinese companies have no choice but to cozy up to the ruling CCP, complying fully with whatever its security and intelligence agencies dictate — six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Whether it’s your next meal or your alma mater, the CCP is omnipresent. Most Americans have never heard of the China-based Zhejiang Lab, but it is a critical component of China’s military-industrial complex. Zhejiang has collaborated with Harvard University on advanced optics and computer vision, Princeton University on tracking technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on imaging and sensing systems for military reconnaissance, satellite surveillance and biometric monitoring.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reaps the benefits.

In return, American colleges and universities receive billions of dollars from China. Harvard is a top recipient of funding from China and Hong Kong, prompting several House investigations into the Ivy League’s Beijing business. Last I checked, Tsinghua University in Beijing doesn’t share research with the Defense Department or CIA.

None of this is coincidental or surprising. According to Mr. Xi’s new five-year plan, China wants to take a “leading position in scientific and technological development” while strengthening its “national security shield.” It’s working: China now controls 70% of global rare earth mining, 85% to 90% of mineral refining, and more than 90% of magnet production used in a variety of high-powered motors. The CCP is the dominant player in the lithium market, which is the dominant source of battery power.

What’s shocking is America’s lack of action to correct the situation. Consider two other critical resources: land and water. China doesn’t dominate just rare earth mining; it has also gained control of hundreds of thousands of acres of U.S. land, including farmland and terrain near military installations. Congress has yet to shut down that threat.

The literal floodgates remain open. A year ago, the Chinese company Nongfu Spring — owned by the richest man in China, Zhong Shanshan — purchased a commercial site in Nashua, New Hampshire, for $67 million. That is more than four times the site’s assessed value ($15 million).

The CCP-linked Nongfu gladly paid a premium because the Nashua facility has rights to draw millions of gallons of water for bottling from a local utility. It is also situated just miles from sensitive infrastructure: Nashua Airport, a Federal Aviation Administration control center and multiple defense facilities.

Yet in the weeks that followed the January 2025 purchase, not a single member of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation addressed the issue. It took months for Gov. Kelly Ayotte to express even tepid concern. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, New Hampshire Democrat, has finally spoken up.

Eight months after the Nongfu purchase, Ms. Goodlander requested that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review the deal. She made no specific demand that it be reversed. (Note: She is married to Jake Sullivan, who served as National Security Adviser under President Biden.)

With each passing week, CFIUS shirks its responsibility. On the other side is the Seattle-based law firm Dorsey & Whitney, which prides itself on helping Chinese companies penetrate the U.S. market.

Our inaction is an impetus for China to push the limits. Did the richest man in China think gaining access to one tiny American water company was a singular goal? Nongfu can start small with a water utility in New Hampshire. The Chinese can then move on to larger resources with a firmer strategic foothold and government approval precedent.

And the silence of our elected officials makes the job that much easier.

This creeping control by an American enemy is difficult to fathom. It is the definition of another self-inflicted wound that continues to bleed out.

• Rick Berman is president of RBB Strategies.