FDD Action-Led Letter to Congressional Leadership Calls for Safeguards Against U.S. Capital Funding PRC Military Capabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of business leaders, former government officials, and national security experts today sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the inclusion of strong outbound investment restrictions targeting the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The letter, addressed to Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Majority Leader John Thune, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, warns that American capital has helped build and sustain PRC capabilities in advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and other critical technologies.
The coalition letter argues that these capabilities are fueling Beijing’s military modernization, coercive statecraft, and techno-authoritarian system, making outbound investment restrictions essential to ensuring that U.S. capital works for America’s national security, not against it.
The Senate-passed NDAA included bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) that would block American investment in specific Chinese technology sectors critical to its defense advancements. The measure targets semiconductors, artificial intelligence systems, quantum computing, and hypersonic missile components. It also establishes reporting requirements for certain technology investments and gives the Treasury Secretary authority to sanction Chinese companies working with Beijing’s military and intelligence apparatus.
“For too long, American capital has flowed into PRC companies tied to the People’s Liberation Army and military-civil fusion enterprises that are designed to give Beijing a strategic advantage over the United States,” said Nick Stewart, Managing Director of Advocacy at FDD Action. “Today, a strong coalition is coming together to ask Congress to act decisively to ensure that U.S. investment does not accelerate PRC military capabilities, fund technologies that could be used against American forces and allies, or enhance Beijing’s power projection. No nation can allow its financial sector to drive the military modernization of its primary strategic competitor.”
“American investments have underwritten Beijing’s military growth and enabled its human rights violations for years. That’s unacceptable,” said Michael Sobolik, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. “We shouldn’t be investing in the Chinese Communist Party. Policymakers in Washington have an opportunity to stop funding the nation’s own destruction.”
The coalition letter includes signatures from more than 20 business leaders, national security experts, and former senior government officials.
The full text of the coalition letter and list of signatories is available here.