4 ways states and cities America can handle the CCP’s threat to our way of life.

Because the 2024 elections and power in Washington, D.C., are set behind us. It is time to turn our collective attention to the greatest external threat to the American way of life: Chinese Communists.

The true size of China’s military and economy and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) unrelenting determination to replace America as global leader. It presents enormous challenges to the United States. This is despite a great deal of attention being paid to flashpoints in the Indo-Pacific such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. But it would be a mistake to underestimate the ongoing competition in our home country. China is trying to undermine us from the bottom up as well. with from outside in .

While the federal government spearheads our national defense State and local governments play an important role in maintaining the homeland. increasing flexibility in dealing with the CCP’s efforts and preparing for future conflicts that we hope will never occur. In fact, after the election of President Trump in 2016, the CCP adopted an engagement strategy. “Regional” opposition to Trump’s federal agenda through states It’s a strategy that will continue throughout President Biden’s term.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, Brazil, on Nov. 1, 20 Nov. 2024. (Reuters/Adriano Machado)

As National Security Adviser Ambassador O’Brien receives daily briefings on dangerous activities within the country carried out by the CCP. What is shocking is Governor Ducey, two-term governor of Arizona. He had never been briefed on the extensive, systematic, and dangerous state-level CCP operations. which hinders our internal security. This disconnect must end.

China attacks us with hackers We must respond hard.

To thwart the CCP’s regional exploitation, State Armor and Citizens for Free Enterprise Action developed a state threat assessment with the help of nearly a dozen of the country’s top security experts. To provide state and local elected officials with a plan to protect our interests.
There are four main directions in which the CCP has infiltrated America, both at the state and local level. China actively targets our people and institutions. Economic and financial assets physical infrastructure and our critical supply chains Each of these issues requires state-level solutions that complement federal policy.

First, the state must respond to China’s efforts to influence CCP state and local leaders and institutions to follow its strategy. “elite capture” in influential operations It is trying to create a flow of people and information that China can use to its advantage.

In the beginning All official lawmaker travel to China must end immediately and indefinitely. States must protect our public campuses from CCP influence operations, as Florida achieved with comprehensive legislation in 2022. and 2023. In addition, the “sister city” agreement with China must be ended. Just like Indiana did in 2024 to help disrupt local Chinese influence operations.

China has violated trade relations with the United States. Trump can fix it.

Second, the state must stop distributing the Chinese economy. Americans will be shocked to learn the size of their retirement accounts. including public pension funds Huge investments have been made in Chinese state-controlled entities and defense industry companies. All Chinese companies are effectively co-opted by member states under China’s famous national security law. It increases credulity to think that fund managers can hold PRC assets and still fulfill their fiduciary duties. States such as Tennessee, Indiana, and Kansas have banned such investments. And Governor Greg Abbott recently announced full divestment from China.

State leaders should follow the examples of Utah, Idaho, and Nebraska and ban the installation of Chinese technology in state procurement programs for critical technologies such as drones, cars, DNA sequencing equipment, computers, and telecommunications equipment. The economic incentives for CCP-related companies should not be overlooked. We should not guarantee the establishment of Chinese commercial operations bases within our borders.

Third, states must protect their real estate and critical infrastructure from being used by China for future espionage and sabotage operations. Purchasing agricultural land and other land of China has increased at an unprecedented rate. Close to a US military base and critical infrastructure such as communications, power plants, water, and power plants.

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The federal government cannot identify every transaction that poses a risk. As a result, states At risk of not accepting this responsibility, states such as Arkansas, Florida, and Texas have taken effective action to keep their land and critical infrastructure out of the hands of the CCP in recent years.

Finally, state leaders should consider several lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. and support their critical infrastructure and supply chains. Before potential conflicts arise in the Indo-Pacific region

China’s extraordinarily aggressive actions against Taiwan and the Philippines (a treaty ally of the US) could escalate into a conflict that could cause bigger disruption than the pandemic. There is likely a major coordinated cyberattack at home, with Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas now underway. “Pacific conflict stress test” to diversify state supply chains and protect critical infrastructure before such conflicts occur.

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The CCP’s coordinated strategy to infiltrate and undermine US society That is not a hypothetical matter. and is not a military threat to the free world. State and local officials must lead the way through this converging storm by leveraging their unique power in our federal system to protect their states and municipalities.

It is time for CCP influence operations to be cut off. Government finances and supply chains must be protected. and that land and critical infrastructure will be protected from CCP control if the state fails to act. We will all be vulnerable to the catastrophic damage the CCP is preparing to unleash on America’s interests and our democratic allies around the world.

Click here to read more from Robert C. O’Brien.

Click here to read more from Doug Ducey.