TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — This year, state legislators throughout the U.S. have proposed more than 240 measures against China. These bills aim to prevent public money from being used to purchase Chinese-made products such as technology equipment, souvenirs like T-shirts, coffee mugs, and keychains meant for visitors. Additionally, they seek to scrutinize city partnerships involving both American and Chinese localities.
Following many years of fostering trade relations with China, states have started to avoid purchasing Chinese drones for their police forces, refrain from using Chinese applications, software, or components in governmental operations, and prevent public pension funds from investing in Chinese enterprises. In Kansas, a recent legislation has been enacted covering areas such as artificial intelligence and medical devices, whereas Arkansas focuses on ending sister-city partnerships along with state and municipal agreements related to promotional goods. Additionally, Tennessee has introduced regulations prohibiting health insurers from providing coverage for organ transplant procedures conducted either entirely within China or involving organs sourced from China.
After successfully advancing a comprehensive 'Communist China Defense' bill into law, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas stated, 'In the coming decades, either the United States or China will take the leading role globally. For my part, I hope this leadership position belongs to the U.S.'
The initiative began long before President Donald Trump levied 145% tariffs on China, but his approach is motivating state officials, especially fellow Republicans. Sanders mentioned that her endeavors align with Trump’s trade strategies.
Trump's initial term instigated a change
Anti-China proposals have been introduced this year in at least 41 states, but mostly in GOP-controlled legislatures, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.
Kyle Jaros, an associate professor of global affairs at the University of Notre Dame, noted that Trump's rhetoric supported this trend from his very first year in office. He has written extensively on China’s relations with US states. Subsequently, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic worsened American public sentiment.
The initial Trump administration conveyed a significantly distinct stance compared to the previous Obama administration regarding the involvement of states and cities with China," Jaros stated. "It generally failed to recognize the importance.
A move carrying minimal political danger
Using a "patriotic appeal" against China strikes a chord with American voters, according to David Adkins, a former Kansas lawmaker and current CEO of the nonpartisan Council on State Governments.
"Both political parties' politicians, at every level of government, face no consequences for denigrating China," Adkins stated via email.
John David Minnich, an expert on contemporary China and associate professor at the London School of Economics, mostly credits "focused, strategic lobbying" rather than public pressure for explaining actions taken by states.
A Chinese balloon startles government authorities
Critics view China as increasingly anti-American and authoritarian under President Xi Jinping , and U.S. authorities claim China has booming hacking-for-hire ecosystem to collect overseas intelligence.
Certain state officials started viewing China as a clear threat when Chinese balloon flew Across the U.S. in 2023, according to Sara Newland, an associate professor of government at Smith College, who collaborates on research with Jaros.
"There’s an assumption that Chinese investments will lead to the Chinese government surveilling individuals or jeopardizing food security in certain regions," she stated.
Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, a former Army colonel, stated that combating China requires a "collective endeavor" involving both state governments and the federal government. He supported a newly enacted legislation that significantly restricts property acquisition near military bases located up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from these installations in Kansas, specifically targeting individuals and entities associated with adversarial nations such as China, along with others like Cuba, Iran, and North Korea.
“All of us have a part to play,” Croft said.
Skepticism meets state initiatives
Continued limitations on foreign real estate ownership remain favored, with at least 46 bills proposed across 24 states; however, opponents compare implementing such constraints to marketing snow shovel sales to residents of Miami.
Collectively, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean, and Cuban entities held under 1% ownership of the country’s 1.27 billion acres of farmland as of the end of 2023, as reported. A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Chinese interest held approximately 277,000 acres, which equates to two-hundredths of one percent.
In Arkansas, only the state capital, Little Rock, is impacted by the prohibition on sister-city relationships.
Even conservatives have questions
Concerns regarding actions against China reach as far as conservative North Dakota, where a Chinese corporation's involvement has been met with apprehension. plan to develop countryside adjacent to an Air Force installation served as inspiration anti-China efforts that spread elsewhere.
Several legislators in North Dakota proposed withdrawing investments from a state fund, which contains billions of dollars derived from oil taxes, from Chinese enterprises. However, the Senate rejected a less stringent form of this proposal the previous week.
Republican Senator Dale Patten indicated during the discussion that legislators supporting the bill appeared to be inconsistent.
I suspect that currently this industry is significantly involved with neckties produced in China," Patten stated. "If we were to examine them closely, we might see for ourselves." He added, "This underscores just how challenging such an endeavor can be.
It's unlikely that states have finished dealing with China.
If Trump’s tariffs prompt China to renegotiate its relationship with the US, Minnich believes this could undermine actions taken by individual states. Should Trump pursue "lasting disengagement," however, Minnich notes that state-level efforts may not significantly impact China in the near term when contrasted with federal policy moves, according to him.
However, states do not appear poised to cease their efforts.
Joras mentioned that they genuinely worry about possible Chinese cyber threats and question whether essential infrastructures depend excessively on Chinese-made equipment.
Most of China's threats to the U.S. occur in cyber space," he stated. "And some of these protective measures are still lacking strength.
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Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Jack Dura, in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed.