Congressman Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.) is raising alarms over plans by the U.S. arm of a Chinese materials technology company to build a new facility near key U.S. national security installations.
On Monday, Mr. LaTurner sent a letter calling on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to order the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review the potential national security risks arising from plans by Cnano Technology USA to build a new facility in Johnson County, near Kansas City. The planned facility would be located approximately 21 miles from the Kansas City National Security Campus, 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth, 70 miles from Whiteman Air Force Base, and 105 miles from Fort Riley.
The planned location of the facility is of particular concern, Mr. LaTurner said, as he believes Cnano Technology USA’s parent company, Cnano Jiangsu Technology Co. Ltd., maintains ties to the Chinese government and the country’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In his letter to Mr. Austin and Ms. Yellen, the Kansas lawmaker alleges that Cnano Jiangsu Technology has ties to Project 863, which the U.S. intelligence community describes as a program that “provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire U.S. technology and sensitive economic information.”
“They have very strong connections to the CCP through their 863 program, they’ve received financing, their CEO has spoken to” China’s communist-controlled legislature, Mr. LaTurner told NTD’s “China in Focus.”
Cnano is ostensibly seeking to build the Johnson County facility to produce a liquid conductive paste, which can be used in a variety of technology components, including lithium-ion batteries and touch screens for smartphones. Announcing the new facility plans in August, Cnano said the $94.7 million project will bring about a 333,000-square-foot facility that leads to 112 new jobs, for a $7.1 million payroll.
“They want to invest $100 million into Kansas and 100 new jobs. That all sounds great,” Mr. LaTurner said, “if you’re not paying attention to the details.”
Chinese investments and development projects within the United States have come under heightened scrutiny in recent years, with concerns about agents of the Chinese government cribbing U.S. research breakthroughs and intellectual property.
Activists and lawmakers have also raised concerns about the proximity of Chinese-owned facilities to U.S. military bases and other key national security facilities and critical infrastructure components. In recent years, lawmakers have raised pressure to scuttle land purchases by Chinese-linked entities near Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.
“It’s incredibly concerning. And you’ve seen a pattern of behavior. With China, setting up companies buying land near our military installations,” Mr. LaTurner said.
Fort Leavenworth, which Mr. LaTurner described as “the intellectual hub of the United States Army,” is the home to the Army’s Combined Arms Center. The base is also home to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, which teaches graduate-level command and leadership courses for military officers.
“When I talk about Fort Leavenworth, for example, being the intellectual hub of the United States Army, the way we teach our officers, the research that goes into forming strategy is a very big deal and something that we need to protect,” Mr. LaTurner said. “And so I have grave concerns about this company, and we are going to stay on this until something is done. We cannot allow [it] no matter how great it sounds with the investment in the new jobs. We have to stop China’s infiltration of our country.”
Mr. LaTurner said the new Cnano facility also raises concerns about Chinese efforts to infiltrate and subvert U.S. supply chains.
“We have a giant investment that came into our state with the new Panasonic plant to manufacture batteries for EVs. And this company Cnano, they manufacture glue that goes into batteries, and so they’re wanting to be a part of the supply chain,” he said. “That frankly is thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment into our state, something that is very important to us. We need to make sure that we protect the research done in our state, the intellectual property that we have, and of course … our national security.”
NTD News reached out to Cnano for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
“We’re proud to bring cutting-edge technology, investment dollars and, most importantly, jobs to the region,” Cnano Technology USA President Shawn Montgomery said as the company announced its plans for the Johnson County facility in August.