Senate Foreign Relations hearing spotlights Chinese 'malign influence' across universities, media, supply chains and developing countries

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee convened a policy hearing on PRC malign influence at home and abroad, bringing a bipartisan panel of witnesses who described a broad, multifaceted campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to shape institutions, science, communications platforms and foreign governments.

Chairman Risch opened the hearing saying the committee intended to “focus on the greatest long term threat to The United States, that being China,” and called for policy measures to close loopholes in lobbying, reform visa screening, and equip State to counter malign influence.

Experts and academics who testified described the threat in specific terms. Peter Mattis, president of the Jamestown Foundation, said the CCP’s influence activities are organized through an expansive “United Front” system that “keeps extending outward” to recruit and mobilize people and institutions to act on the party’s behalf. “United front is also a way of looking at politics,” Mattis said, warning the system targets civil-society groups, universities, media and local leaders and can “undermine the very functioning of institutions.”

Jeffrey Stoff, founder of the Center for Research Security and Integrity, told the committee U.S. universities and research institutions are particularly vulnerable because many elements of fundamental research fall outside export controls. He said failures to disclose PRC funding on federal grants, and the incentives universities face to accept foreign money, have exposed large volumes of scientific collaboration that he described as providing “profound effects on our national and economic security.”

Dr. Melanie Hart of the Atlantic Council urged a targeted U.S. approach that uses transparency and dedicated State Department resources to counter economic coercion and disinformation. She specifically called for reauthorizing the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, describing it as a “force multiplier” that funded third-party research worldwide to expose and counter Beijing’s propaganda campaigns.

Dr. Jennifer Lind, an associate professor at Dartmouth College, urged the committee to distinguish between activities that are “regrettable but normal” great-power competition and those that are “intolerable” (for example, abductions or election interference), then to build a calibrated toolkit that deters the latter by imposing costs Beijing would feel.

Concerns about the administration’s recent freeze on foreign assistance recurred throughout testimony and questioning. Witnesses and senators described concrete consequences: programs paused, nongovernmental organizations and democracy-support efforts curtailed, and humanitarian and development projects — including some medicine shipments and health programs abroad — interrupted. Dr. Hart warned the freeze “is hobbling America’s ability to compete with China in every domain,” noting that foreign military financing for Taiwan and other programs have been affected.

Committee members pressed witnesses on policy responses across multiple domains.

- Research security: Stoff recommended stronger enforcement of grant-reporting rules, closer alignment of export-control and entity-list authorities with research funding, and a larger State Department role to impose costs when the PRC violates norms. He testified he had documented thousands of collaborative articles in recent years involving PRC military-linked institutions.

- Universities and campus outreach: Witnesses urged better federal reporting requirements, more information-sharing between government and universities, and carefully targeted compliance steps that preserve academic openness while preventing covert influence or undisclosed contracted research.

- Disinformation and information platforms: Senators and witnesses highlighted social platforms (including TikTok/ByteDance and emerging Chinese AI models such as “DeepSeek”) as central battlegrounds. Senator Ricketts told the committee TikTok had about “70,000,000 users” and that more than half used it for news; witnesses said platform control is as important as the content.

- Economic coercion and the global south: Multiple witnesses warned the foreign-aid pause hands Beijing an immediate opening to supply assistance, influence, and infrastructure financing in Latin America, the Pacific, Africa and elsewhere. Dr. Hart and other witnesses urged continuing targeted U.S. tools such as Development Finance Corporation support, CHIPS Act diplomatic funding, and the reauthorization of counter-influence programs.

- Critical infrastructure and undersea cables: Senators raised recent reports of damage to submarine cables and concerns about sabotage or coercive pressure; witnesses advised improving detection, response and international cooperation while noting gaps in legal and repair frameworks.

- Intellectual property: Witnesses described state-backed PRC programs to acquire technology and talent, including overseas innovation centers and incentives that encourage U.S. researchers to collaborate in ways that can disadvantage U.S. firms and national security.

Witnesses offered concrete recommendations: reauthorize the Global Engagement Center (to restore grant funding for counter-disinformation partners abroad); tighten and enforce grant-disclosure and export-control rules for federally funded research; direct State to provide dedicated resources to counter economic coercion; and preserve targeted foreign-assistance and democracy-support programs that witnesses said are strategic competition tools.

Committee members from both parties repeatedly warned that a broad, prolonged freeze on foreign assistance would “give Beijing a blank check” to expand influence and undercut U.S. credibility with partners. Ranking Member Shaheen said the issue of China’s influence is “bipartisan” and urged quick, coordinated policy responses. Chairman Risch closed by thanking the witnesses, keeping the record open for 24 hours, and asking for written questions and answers for the record.

The hearing produced a multi-agency policy agenda rather than immediate votes: the committee asked witnesses to provide more detailed proposals for statutory fixes and reporting requirements and signaled possible follow-up hearings and legislative language on research security, export controls, Global Engagement Center reauthorization, and targeted funding to counter PRC influence.