In recent weeks, numerous national security concerns have been raised regarding Chinese corporations and their increasing ownership of American businesses and trading ports. This alarm comes in the wake of China’s largest shipping company, Cosco Shipping Holdings Co., taking control of a major US trade terminal in Long Beach, California. The Long Beach acquisition is part of Cosco’s six-billion-dollar buyout of rival Asian shipping giant, the Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas International Ltd.
Whereas Cosco’s ownership of the California port is a smart move for the Chinese economy, American trade insiders have expressed skepticism over the acquisition’s benefits for the United States, worried it may jeopardize national security.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) – a federal panel tasked with reviewing foreign purchases of American businesses by foreign entities – recently investigated Cosco’s seizure of Orient Overseas, expressing strong national security concerns and uncertainty about the Chinese corporation’s intentions.
This review followed President Trump’s refusal to allow Singaporean-owned tech company Broadcom to purchase the California-based telecommunications giant Qualcomm – the president’s decision largely informed by CFIUS concerns that the American company would be undermined, easily allowing China to gain an advantage over the United States in microchip technology.
Many Americans have expressed opposition to the Cosco purchase and have encouraged CFIUS to block China’s takeover of the major California port. Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government, discussed the topic in May, saying in a statement:
“Under no circumstances should CFIUS permit China to take over management or effective control over the port of Long Beach, a critical channel for foreign commerce, but one that must remain under US control. Long Beach serves as the gateway to and from Asia. In order to ensure that our national and economic security needs are met, neither the Chinese government nor its state-run companies should be controlling such critical infrastructure.”
He added, “CFIUS needs to just say no to the deal.”
The Cosco acquisition also comes during a time of increased tension between China and the United States, with both country’s leaders threatening to levy new tariffs and sanctions, and public officials raising concerns of an all-out trade war between the two nations.
California’s trading ports have long been a point of contention for international relations.
In the mid-1990s during Bill Clinton’s campaign for his second presidential term, the Clinton administration worked towards ensuring a Chinese shipping company with communist ties received a good deal on another Long Beach shipping terminal.
The bad China deals didn’t stop with Clinton, either. Under the Obama administration, US-China relations shifted, with Obama positioning the United States as a partner to China, rather than a competitor. As the US became less competitive with China in the name of “international cooperation”, the Obama administration gradually began to allow more and more Chinese conglomerates to buy out American properties and businesses. The Democrat-backed policies that gave China trade advantages are, in part, responsible for the development of the current state of affairs in which China has a disproportionately large influence on American commerce.
President Trump has taken steps to put America first again, threatening to slap a 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of China’s tech exports, however the Cosco purchase is still set to be finalized this month.
Within the past several years, China has rapidly advanced its strategy to weaken the American dollar, destabilize our economy, and replace the United States as the dominant economic world power. The increasing Chinese ownership of American industry is actively weakening our country while diminishing our national security and self-reliance.
President Trump has taken a strong stance on China, addressing the trade deficit and the country’s theft of American intellectual property. If Americans wish to curb Chinese influence on American commerce and our economic strength, we must follow President Trump’s lead.
We know the country aims to subvert our world power and economic dominance. We must not let them.
Excellent article. We’re being lulled into thinking that somehow China’s intentions are honorable. NOT!
Has everyone forgotten that China is a communist country. And for as long as I can remember (63 years) we have been against communism. It appears the Democrats have very strong ties with communist China. Not only now but for many years in the past. There are a lot of thoughts here now. Covid came from China. Our Democrtatic president is pushing these vaccines so hard people will reluctantly get them just to protect their jobs. I firmly believe these shots and the boosters are intended to kill whoever gets them. When enough Americans are dead the Chinese will invade the United States then. The rest of us will become prisoners in our own country. Thank you Democratic Party!!! Lets stop this before it gets that far while there is still time.
Fast Forward to October 2021, we are now in a supply chain crisis with hundreds of container ships sitting off our coasts’ ports unable to off load.
Thank goodness the memory hole or cancel culture has not reached this article!
Trump was a con man. Crooked as a dog hind leg
Ur a idiot sorry
Trump did more for this nation than any President in the past 60 years. He truly has the people of this Nation in mind and he actually created policies that did IN FACT benefit all Americans.
Years ago (Bush 43) there were serious efforts becked by Sen Patty Murray, bringing increased real-time surveillance to containers leaving and arriving in US Ports, including every-container scanning for CBRNE.
Lets not forget what a EMT strike would do to our cities!! Not one of our administration have addressed our being engrave danger This an our down sizing our naval fleet by half ! ! Now this divided civil civil unrest make us at weakest point since Pearl Harbor. Catch my point and we have them in our ports on our own land Chinese!!! Wake up and smell the roses .Be armed and ready to support our nation!!! Together we’ll survive, divided well fall
CPF
Trump has done more to damage this country’s preeminence than ant trade deal. He can not talk the talk nor walk the walk. He has betrayed the US Constitution.
Wake up lady! It was president Trump that forced the Chinese to sell the port of Long Beach back. No more Chinese controlling our California port of Long Beach.Too bad it was in fact Obama that cleared the way in 2012 for the Chinese acquisition …Who is really selling out who?? Who again is protecting our country and our constitution -absolutely right-it’s our current president Trump. Busy undoing and unraveling all the bad deals for America with China- Educate yourself and get the facts! You sound clueless
Sorry but he saved our country wake up and get away from MSN
China And Israel have us on our knees
5 g Israel and China death to America !!
Anyone want to bet the Chinese are running Fentanyl and all kinds of other crap thru there?!? Not to mention all kinds of spying!
I thought this already had happened several years ago….Lon Beach has been invaded by the chinese shipping companys and the go;vt.
Americans can own almost nothing in China and certainly not an entire port facility. Is this “fair trade”? We have to stop allowing Chinese people ANY access to America, whether it be travel or business, until we have exactly the same access within Chine that they have in America. That means no Chinese student spies here invading the Universities, no pregnant Chinese women coming here to have babies who are then American citizens, no visas for work…nothing! Out government is selling us out to the Chinese day after day and our government officials, including senators and congressmen, are on the take from the Chinese. They are allowed to fake it by doing deals through their family members but then leave office multi millionaires because of their graft and corruption. It’s sickening. President Trump needs to do something about that, too.
When is this going to stop? We are loosing our country so fast, and we can’t stop it. Obama and the Clintons plus George Soros are paying the way to destroy America. They are still running our country now. The people he put in high places are still there. Until Trump has the support from our House and Senate we can’t win. The Obama’s and Clintons should be tried for treason against the United States of America and put in prison for life. Our meat processing plants have been bought by JBS John Batesta of Brazil. Smithfield Foods of Virginia, family own for years, now China owns them. They have sold us out. That’s 8 years of Obama. How could a country elect a Muslem not a U.S. citizen for President not once but two times? We’ve taken God out of our schools public places our families are falling apart. We’ve pushed God out of our country so now we are loosing our country. He blessed our country from the beginning, he inspired our forfathers to write the constitution. Now they want to change it to suite their needs. we need to call our congressman and senators to back our President Donald TRUMP! And we need term limits they all come out millionaires.
He inspired our forefathers to write the constitution about as much as He inspired them to slaughter the Native Americans. He has His own Law that we were to uphold and reflect to the world and we didn’t. Just like everyone else, we chose our own law. He foresaw this coming and we were warned many times throughout His Bible. This is the result of our own doing. WE continue to allow these people in office. WE continue to watch as they strip us of our freedoms and WE, due to our own fears and comforts, refuse to do anything about it.
Is there any factual evidence that California is helping China to get a foothold here?
China owning the Port of Long Beach, what could go wrong? How about the US shifting imports away from China to Vietnam or the Philippines instead, and the Port interfering with their cargo handling, denying storage space, slow walking the docking of arrivals, etc.
Add in the interference of shipping of military equipment to our forces, or countries trying to resist Chinese expansion. China would love to have the manifest of cargo leaving the terminal. the discussion
I’ve said it before. If we continue to let China buy up businesses, we’ll soon be called the U.S.C. (United States of China), instead of the U.S.A.
No surprise that the communist state of Kalifornia is selling out to the Chinese!
My, this article is a bit late, isn’t it?
Bill Clinton allowed the sale of the nuclear sub site in Long Beach to China during his term in office. The outcry from Californians and Americans went ignored.
Now it surfaces as big news. The card-carrying communists Bill and Hillary Clinton have been operation against America’s best interests for decades.
IF there were justice both would be in jail.
God bless America.
Seems like if Chinese interests want to own a US port it should only happen if US interests are allowed to own a Chinese port.
That will never happen – they protect their sovereignty. We’re more like gullible trusting dogs who roll over baring their underbelly for rubbing. We’re selling our soul to the enemy (they are Communist regime) like hapless children following the Pied Piper.
So, now we allow the Chinese government to buy a port on American soil? What in hell is wrong with people in DC?
It’s all democRATS and Money. Absolutely NOTHING about our Country and it’s people unless Trump and his administration can stop all this. It’s actually an invasion.
Can we buy ports on Chinese soil?
They’re Liberal Democrats…….