“When it comes to defending America from the Chinese Communist Party, Sacramento and Bismarck are no less a locus of competition than Shanghai and Beijing,” China Tech Threat principal and retired U.S. Army Major General James “Spider” Marks wrote in a recent Newsweek op-ed. The column focused on China Tech Threat’s new report that details hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. state government purchases of Chinese-owned and operated Lexmark and Lenovo equipment, which have been banned or restricted from U.S. military and national security networks.
For more on China Tech Threat’s new report, check out the Axios coverage which cited the report’s finding that as of March 2020, “only one U.S. state restricted contracts with Chinese-owned or operated tech manufacturers. Today five states have laws or restrictions governing state contracts, with 11 additional states currently considering legislation as of this writing.” In a blog for the Coalition for a Prosperous America, Kenneth Rapoza writes: in a thorough review: “An increasing number of U.S. states are banning China technology brands from government offices – whether that’s a Lenovo laptop, TikTok on government-issued phones or Motorola, now owned by a Chinese company.”
And Dr. Roslyn Layton’s latest Forbes column, U.S. States Reconsider $230M On Restricted Lexmark, Lenovo Products, highlights the report to remind why Americans “shouldn’t be distracted by a single high-profile incident of Chinese espionage – there is a far more prevalent threat persisting right now which is completely legal under most state laws.”
Dr. Layton also points to the emerging trend of state laws to stop these threats writing, “Thankfully, some states have begun to recognize the threat and take action. Comprehensive actions in Georgia (S.B. 346) and Florida (Executive Order 22-216) last year have kickstarted momentum for states to stop Chinese companies from participating in state contracts.”