China strengthens ties with states and localities to counter US efforts to limit CCP influence.

Beijing is using the separation of state and federal powers as a way to evade efforts by the U.S. to limit Chinese interference.

Despite the U.S. government's efforts to safeguard against Beijing's potential threats, such as restricting its investment in U.S. farmlands due to espionage concerns, it has neglected to tackle China's most powerful weapon: influence.

Beijing's continued influence in various sectors across the United States is primarily driven by its localized subnational relations, according to a report titled "The Near Enemy: China’s Subnational Reach Into the United States" released by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) on Tuesday.

The report found that Chinese subnational influence in the United States today is significantly greater than any other external power's capacity, and it surpasses the leverage cultivated by the Soviet Union's "active measures" playbook.

By avoiding federal policies and focusing on building relationships at the state and local levels, this sphere of influence can be obtained through private contracts, state-based programs, job creation, and local economic boosts.

According to the authors, local and state governments are more practical than their federal counterparts, prioritizing employment and economic development over security concerns, as stated in a 2019 Xinhua report on local U.S. government relations with China amid the ongoing trade war initiated under the Trump administration.

According to the FDD's most recent findings, the attitude of U.S. local governments towards Beijing has not changed when it comes to state leadership on both sides of the aisle, as reported by the Chinese report.

The FDD report discovered that there is an imbalance in the U.S. federal system's division of labor. National authorities are responsible for national security and international trade policy, while state and local authorities focus on providing public goods and promoting economic development.

The report stated that Chinese subnational influence efforts that prioritize economic impact, specifically inbound investment at the subnational level, can circumvent national-level security mechanisms.

The report highlighted relationships between Democrats and Republican leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom's visit to China and meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. They discussed topics such as economic development and cultural exchange programs.

In 2018, during a National Governors Association event attended by the China General Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Arkansas' Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, emphasized the importance of subnational cooperation with China.

"Clearly, our federal government manages our foreign and trade policies. However, strengthening state-level relationships can enhance our national success," he stated.

The FDD report has identified the inability of the U.S. to protect itself from Chinese interference in various areas as the main issue facing the country today.

The authors noted that American policy responses to China lack coordination and that defending against China's subnational influence arms requires a more integrated approach to address the complex collective action problem posed by China's cultivation of influence through state, local, and commercial avenues in the United States.

According to FDD experts, China views state and local actors as "prime targets for influence efforts" that are successful in securing investment deals, cultural programs, and swaying national narratives.

"Nathan Picarsic, FDD senior fellow and co-author of the report, stated that the Chinese Communist Party takes a deliberate approach to finding weaknesses in U.S. defenses and aims to establish a united front that extends its influence beyond China's borders. According to Picarsic, Beijing can exploit state, local, and commercial avenues to manipulate and evade the barriers imposed by an increasingly hawkish Washington."

To effectively and efficiently respond to the threat of the CCP's global positioning, we must first address the CCP's presence in the United States.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Gov. Hutchinson were contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for their opinions.