China spent almost $64 million in propaganda expenses in the United States in 2020, according to a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP). The sum is from new foreign-agent filings through the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and represents a sixfold increase from the $10 million registered in 2016.
Both numbers vastly underestimate China’s influence in the United States, which is primarily through the approximately $600 billion in annual trade between the two countries. Every dollar traded with China benefits some Americans, many of whom seek to influence U.S. government policy toward appeasing rather than confronting China. Appeasement ensures trade flow. Confrontation threatens trade flow. The math is simple.
The biggest and most politically influential corporations and billionaires make the most from China. So, big business and the think tanks, academics, and nonprofits that big business supports, mostly tend to favor more free trade with China.
