Elite capture probably is not a political term on the tip of the tongue of most Americans. Yet this CCP tactic is both pervasive and effectively used inside the United States. It is a standard tool in the CCP’s arsenal of influence operations techniques. Some of the most senior leaders in Washington from previous administrations have succumbed to China’s alluring siren offering lucrative benefits. The CCP leadership over the last three decades has developed a multi-prong approach to influence peddling in America that includes highly placed, former US officials, federal officeholders, state legislators, and Ivy League academicians. Add to this cadre the decades-long threat from Chinese media entities intervening in US domestic politics and one can conclude that a fundamental reevaluation of the US response to China’s aggressive moves is needed to protect the country and the foundation of the international system.
China’s strategic planning takes into account the historical lack of American political willpower to oppose Beijing since normalization. It exploits the rules-based order of the international system to push a communist ideology and the authoritarian giant’s global ambitions. Perhaps, worse, it willingly undermines the sovereignty of nation states around the globe to achieve its predatory goals. Its free rein, however, may be coming to an abrupt end.
The new 2020 White House approach to China has two objectives, according to a recently released “United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China” White House report. It recognizes that the country must “improve the resiliency of our institutions, alliances, and partnerships to prevail against the challenges the PRC presents,” and second, it must “compel Beijing to cease or reduce actions harmful to the United States’ vital national interests and those of our allies and partners.” The Administration may be the first in several decades to campaign successfully against Chinese influence. The report indicates the current Administration understands cooperative engagement with multiple stakeholders, including Congress and the private sector, is needed to counter Beijing.
Congress is key to providing the legal avenues and resources needed to achieve Washington’s strategic objectives toward China. However, when former high-ranked legislators, including Senator Max Baucus who also served as US Ambassador to China (2014-2017), join an influential consulting group containing communist Chinese client firms, it is time to question the extent of Beijing’s elite capture inside Washington. And, when a former White House staffer, Andy Purdy, gets hired as the chief security officer for Huawei, it is without question time to STOP Beijing’s elite capture successes inside this country.
The triumvirate of Chinese challenges to American values, the economy, and US national security require Washington to rethink its approach to handling the US-China great power rivalry since 2000. During the past three years the US Department of Justice and the FBI have joined forces to begin to identify and prosecute those who violate US law. Unlike previous administrations of late, Washington is directing resources to “prosecute trade secrets theft, hacking, and economic espionage,” according to the White House report. It also is increasing efforts to protect against malign foreign investment in infrastructure, the supply chain, and foreign agents seeking to influence American policy.
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The current Administration, under the direction of the State Department, now requires Chinese diplomats to notify the US Government if they intend to meet with state or local government officials or academic institutions. The FBI is proactively meeting with university administrations to warn of the Chinese threat, although the agents often are rebuffed by the Ivy League schools who call the threat nonexistent. NIH and the Department of Energy recently revised regulations pertaining to foreign access and compliance. Finally, it appears a US President is working on behalf of the American people to demand that Beijing comply with international norms of behavior. In the end can it succeed against those well-connected Americans who willingly sell their soul to Beijing? And, will the Trump Administration’s whole-of-government approach produce tangible results and constructive outcomes that protect America and the international order? It remains to be seen.
DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Friday, she presents key updates on China.