Here’s Why States and Congress Must Address the CCP

Sanctions and other administrative action are necessary but still not enough 

The U.S. House Special Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Government (CCP) recently convened a roundtable of experts to address the means by which communist leaders in Beijing evade sanctions. The Special Select Committee found that the CCP has developed a sophisticated system for getting around punishments and U.S. mechanisms intended to keep sensitive material from the communist government.  

The U.S. Congress and state legislatures cannot expect our national security apparatus to stop the threats with the legal tools currently in place. The Chinese government is getting around current guardrails meant to protect U.S. national security. It is imperative that lawmakers do more to protect American land, agriculture, technology, and energy sectors. As the evidence below shows, today’s legal mechanisms are not enough.    

Evading Sanctions on Oil and Gas Purchases 

For years, China has been skirting U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil by purchasing crude through independent refineries and ship-to-ship transfers that protect the cargo from easy tracing. The U.S. recently (October 9, 2025) cracked down on some of this by sanctioning one of these independent refineries, in addition to individuals, entities, and vessels. The refinery, Sinopec, is reportedly already looking for another workaround.  

As far back as 2021, China was skirting U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil by rebranding it as Brazilian crude and again using independent refineries to import. 

Skirting Restrictions on Semiconductor Imports 

In the world of tech, China has routinely found ways to skirt U.S. restrictions on semiconductor imports by smuggling the hardware in through other countries such as Malaysia. A report found that Chinese engineers have also started bringing hard drives to countries that are not subject to the sanctions and then using U.S. chips when they arrive to build AI models, before bringing them back to China. Universities have also been finding ways to import the restricted chips. In 2023, the Semiconductor Industry Association accused the Chinese company Huawei of circumventing sanctions by building facilities in China under the names of other companies. 

A 2023 paper published in the “Review of International Economics” found that “China is indeed undermining Western sanctions by increasing its trade with target countries in specific categories of goods.” 

Hiding Behind Hong Kong 

A September 2025 hearing by the House Special Select Committee on the CCP revealed that the communist government in Beijing has sadly been using its tacit control of Hong Kong to circumvent economic sanctions imposed by America. In numerous instances, companies that are blacklisted by the U.S. for violating American national security simply shift their work to subsidiaries in Hong Kong.  

According to the Select Committee’s Chairman, Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI), sanction evasion efforts that utilize Hong Kong make it difficult for the government to stop national security threats from the CCP. Representative Moolenaar said, “When Hong Kong enables sanctions evasion, it weakens America’s ability to hold our adversaries accountable, making it harder to stop nuclear proliferation, fund our national defense, or safeguard American businesses and workers from unfair competition.” 

Congress and State Legislatures Must Act Now  

The Trump Administration has taken admirable action to hold the CCP accountable and protect American citizens, farmers, manufactures, and technology developers. Unfortunately, as the evidence above demonstrates, we need better laws in place. This means passing additional protections in legislatures at both the federal and state levels. 

The Protecting America Initiative (PAI) is committed to ensure Americans are protected from national security threats posed by the CPP. To provide enhanced protection to U.S. citizens and business and end sanction evasion, we will work to pass tougher laws on the communist Chinese government, including the following.  

Protecting American Farmers and Food Supply: PAI is working on Capitol Hill to promote legislation like that sponsored by Representative Mike Simpson (R, ID-2) to keep China from taking over control of the U.S. food supply.  

Combatting China’s Influence Over Smart Devices: PAI supports U.S. Senator Rick Scott’s (R-FL) Protect the GRID Act, legislation aimed at curbing the CCP's access to America’s power grid and critical infrastructure through smart devices and software. 

Advocating State Efforts to Block CCP from Buying Land: PAI has spent over a year pushing for states across the country to block the purchase of U.S. land by entities connected to the CCP.  

Supporting President Trump’s Trade Deals: PAI recently released a new ad highlighting how President Donald Trump is standing up to China. “Taking on China” supports President Trump in his China trade deal negotiations as he puts America First.  

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These are just a few of the ways PAI is pushing to give our leaders new tools to protect Americans from the communist Chinese government. With mounting evidence that the current tools aren’t enough, we will remain diligent.