Photo courtesy of the Select Committee on the CCP
Since returning to office in 2025, Republicans have prioritized countering the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through legislative, economic, military, and law enforcement initiatives. A key step in these efforts came in February 2025, when Senator Rick Scott introduced the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act to reinstate and codify President Trump’s CCP Initiative within the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
The bill targets CCP-linked trade secret theft, economic espionage, and cyberattacks while strengthening enforcement of foreign investment regulations and improving coordination between the DOJ, FBI, and other federal agencies. It also ensures independent, well-funded operations dedicated to addressing CCP-related threats to U.S. technology, infrastructure, and supply chains.
Senator Scott called the CCP one of the greatest threats to America’s national security, criticizing President Biden for ending Trump’s original China Initiative, which had uncovered dozens of espionage cases. He said the revived program would help President Trump confront Beijing’s economic and technological aggression and “Make America Safe Again.”
Representative Lance Gooden, co-sponsoring the bill in the House, added that China has long stolen from U.S. businesses, infiltrated institutions, and undermined the economy, stressing that the legislation sends a clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate the CCP’s sabotage of American interests.
President Trump has taken a series of trade and economic actions to counter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and protect U.S. national security. He imposed a range of tariffs from 10 to 125 percent on all Chinese imports, citing Beijing’s unfair trade practices and the CCP’s failure to curb the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to criminal cartels. To further combat the opioid epidemic, President Trump signed an executive order eliminating duty-free treatment for low-value imports from China, closing the de minimis loophole that had been the lifeblood of Chinese e-commerce companies.
In parallel, the administration expanded U.S. export controls to restrict CCP-backed subsidiaries, applying sanctions to any entity at least 50 percent owned by companies already on the Commerce Department’s Entity List.
Trump also launched a Section 232 investigation into national security risks tied to America’s dependence on imported processed critical minerals. The action came after China suspended exports of six heavy rare earth metals and rare earth magnets in an attempt to cut off supplies to U.S. automakers, aerospace manufacturers, and defense contractors.
In early 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reoriented U.S. military strategy to confront the growing threat from China. A secret internal memo issued in March, known as the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, labeled China as the “sole pacing threat” and declared a potential invasion of Taiwan the primary scenario driving U.S. defense planning. The guidance directed the Pentagon to prioritize deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and the defense of the U.S. homeland while “assuming risk” in Europe and other regions.
At the May 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth publicly reaffirmed this shift, warning that Beijing is “credibly preparing to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.” He stated that the United States is prepared to “fight and win” against China if deterrence fails and urged Asian allies to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
At the same time, Hegseth accelerated the forward positioning of advanced U.S. capabilities near China. The Marine Corps deployed its NMESIS precision anti-ship missile system to the Philippines’ Batanes province, only 120 miles south of Taiwan. The U.S. Army stationed its Mid-Range Capability Typhon missile launcher in the Philippines, capable of striking China’s eastern seaboard, and scheduled a second deployment to Australia for a live-fire test later in 2025.
Washington and Canberra also agreed to produce 155-millimeter artillery shells and assemble guided multiple-launch rocket systems in Australia. Additionally, the U.S. upgraded the joint headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan to integrate land, air, sea, space, and cyber operations under a single command.
As of mid-2025, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command oversees more than 300,000 personnel across the region, including 54,000 stationed in Japan, with the 7th Fleet based at Yokosuka, Marine forces in Okinawa, and extensive air assets at Kadena Air Base. Together, these measures reflect a dual-track strategy, reinforcing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific while managing short-term security demands elsewhere, that underscores Hegseth’s intent to refocus American military power on confronting China.
U.S. law enforcement intensified efforts to counter Chinese espionage and cyberattacks. In March, the Department of Justice charged 12 Chinese nationals, including two officers from China’s Ministry of Public Security, for orchestrating a global hacking campaign that included a breach of the U.S. Treasury between September and December 2024. The defendants were accused of conducting intrusions under the direction of both China’s Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of State Security.
In June, the DOJ charged and arrested two additional Chinese nationals in Oregon and Texas for acting as agents of the Ministry of State Security, facilitating payments for classified information, and attempting to recruit U.S. Navy personnel.
The Treasury Department, in January 2025, sanctioned Integrity Technology Group, a Beijing-based cybersecurity firm, for supporting computer intrusions tied to Flax Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group targeting U.S. critical infrastructure. Since January 2025, the Treasury Department has sanctioned at least 85 Chinese companies and entities.
Senator Rick Scott introduced the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act to reinstate President Trump’s China Initiative within the DOJ’s National Security Division, aimed at combating trade secret theft, economic espionage, and cyberattacks by CCP-linked entities.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a key role in the federal campaign against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) threats, focusing on border security, fentanyl interdiction, and cybersecurity. Within DHS, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) leads national efforts to protect U.S. cyber and physical infrastructure, serving as the operational lead for federal cybersecurity and defending civilian executive branch networks.
CISA has identified state-sponsored Chinese cyber actors as a major threat, warning that they are embedding themselves within U.S. information technology networks to enable movement into operational systems and potentially disrupt critical infrastructure at a time of their choosing.
To counter these threats, CISA provides critical infrastructure organizations, government agencies, and private partners with intelligence, guidance, and resources to strengthen defenses. The agency also fosters public-private collaboration to enhance visibility, share information, and coordinate a unified response to Chinese cyber intrusions.
The FBI has made counterintelligence and economic espionage by China and the CCP its top national security priority, describing them as a grave threat to America’s economic well-being and democratic values.
Under President Trump, protecting U.S. interests against China has become a whole-of-government effort involving the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, War, and Homeland Security, as well as multiple congressional committees.
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