Federal Filings Show Chinese Entities Spent Nearly $100 Million to Influence U.S. Policy
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 26
Federal Filings Show Chinese Entities Spent Nearly $100 Million to Influence U.S. Policy
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 26
Summary
$100 million in federal disclosures from 2025 show Chinese government bodies, state media and companies funding U.S. influence efforts, with DOJ records listing nearly $80 million in government FARA spending and more than $20 million from private China-linked entities.
$66.8 million of that went to CGTN America from CCTV between February and November 2025, according to filings that place five Chinese media outlets under active foreign-agent registration in the United States.
Dozens of U.S. lobbyists have also signed contracts with Chinese firms since 2025, while seven companies including Huawei, Hikvision and Yangtze Memory maintain active FARA registrations and others disclose narrower activity under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
The records still capture only part of Beijing's footprint because campus groups, United Front-linked networks and some nonprofits do not file comparable disclosures, leaving the full scope unknown and not proving Trump's election-interference claims.
China's embassy rejected the characterization of the activity as covert influence, calling the exchanges transparent and legitimate even as Trump has invited Xi Jinping to the United States in September for talks on AI and bilateral ties.