How The CCP Uses Fortune 500 Companies To Influence The U.S. Government

The Protecting America Initiative has outlined dozens of ways that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing seeks to influence and shape life in the United States. The common feature of these efforts is increasing the CCP’s power in the U.S. and around the world.  

This week, an op-ed in the Washington Examiner described how Fortune 500 companies work in tandem with the Chinese government to secretly lobby the American government. By working with or buying companies that are allowed to lobby Congress and the Administration, the CCP is able to circumvent laws that prohibit the Chinese government from influencing American politics.  

In short, the Chinese government is working with large companies in the U.S. and ally countries. In return, these companies lobby on behalf of the Chinese government. Here is a major example of a company with ties to the Chinese government spending millions to lobby here in the United States.  

T-Mobile

According to the research conducted by Michael Lucci of the watchdog group State Armor, T-Mobile spent over $10 million lobbying Congress in 2024. Why is that a problem? Because a majority of T-Mobile is owned by a German company (Deutsche Telekom) that works closely with the Chinese government and uses products banned in the U.S. from companies like Huawei.  When they lobby in the U.S., T-Mobile is ultimately representing these foreign interests without proper reporting. 

Deutsche Telekom is a company that is partially owned by the German government. As such, T-Mobile’s parent company already has a direct allegiance to a foreign government. Under current law, when a lobbyist represents a foreign government, they have to register and file under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA). This law provides transparency when people lobby on behalf of other countries. In the case of T-Mobile – a company that was 27% owned by Germany in 2024 – this reporting appears to be non-existent. 

Even more concerning is Deutsche Telekom’s long history of working with companies affiliated with the Chinese government. For over a decade, Deutsche Telekom has partnered with China Mobile on major telecommunications and data projects. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has denied China Mobile’s request to operate in the United States. Meanwhile, they are making major deals with T-Mobile's parent company while T-Mobile spends millions to lobby the U.S. government.  

This example shines a light on a potential major loophole when it comes to foreign lobbying by the CCP. It is time to look at secondary lobbying reporting and increased transparency requirements to ensure that the Chinese government cannot hide behind these giant companies.