U.S. Department of Defense says China is exploiting federal programs to steal tech

Rebel News

A damning report from the U.S. Department of Defense has found that China is exploiting federal programs to steal technology, with the report stating that “China, not the U.S., is the ultimate beneficiary of DoD and other [U. S. Government] research investments.”

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who reviewed the report, said on Wednesday that American companies funded by taxpayer dollars from the Department of Defense and other agencies to develop technology “are recruited by China to continue their work at institutions associated with People’s Liberation Army. The U.S. company is then dissolved and the research and intellectual property paid for U.S. tax dollars is transferred to a subsidiary in China.”

“Just like that, American-made ingenuity is shipped overseas to our leading global adversary … and we, the American taxpayers, are funding it! This isn’t just another case of intellectual property theft.  This ongoing scheme has national and economic security implications according to the Pentagon,” Ernst said, who sits on the Senate committees on armed services and small business, in a statement to the Daily Wire. 

One case found that four grants sent to an American company for space and drone technology were recruited by the Chinese government and dissolved their American company. The company now works for institutions tied to the Chinese power’s defense agency, Ernst said. 

Thanks to “double-crossing companies,” millions of taxpayer dollars have been given to China, Ernst added. 

According to Ernst, the report said that those receiving the grants were exploiting the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. 

Ernst introduced a bill to modify the programs that passed the Senate unanimously and is expected to be taken up by the House this week.

The Daily Wire reported:

The bill ties a reauthorization of finding for the two programs to a requirement that agencies involved conduct a risk assessment of grant applicants to detect ties to China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, “or any other country determined to be a country of concern by the Secretary of State.” It also requires funding applicants to disclose “individuals of the small business concern who are a party to any foreign talent recruitment program of any foreign country of concern, including the People’s Republic of China.”