How Wall Street Fuels China’s Global & Military Ambitions

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a clear and unapologetic goal: to dominate the world, economically and politically, by any means necessary. Through a sophisticated web of financial deception, regulatory loopholes, and strategic market manipulation, tens of millions of Americans are unwittingly funneling trillions of dollars into Chinese companies that directly threaten US national security, produce advanced military weaponry, develop surveillance technologies, and perpetrate egregious human rights abuses.This alarming reality, highlighted by former Reagan adviser Roger Robinson, reveals a chilling truth: American investors are inadvertently funding the very forces that seek to undermine the free world.• SEGMENT 2: America’s Third Watch• SEGMENT 3: The Federal Government’s Attack On Independent Farmers & Ranchers“You have ... companies that are responsible for manufacturing China’s most advanced weapon systems,” Robinson, a veteran of the Reagan administration’s National Security Council, warned in a recent interview. “We’re funding, in some ways, our own demise.”His words carry the weight of experience, having played a pivotal role in crafting economic strategies that helped dismantle the Soviet Union. Today, as co-founder of the Prague Security Studies Institute, Robinson is sounding the alarm on a new existential threat—one that operates not just on battlefields but in the opaque corridors of global finance.At the heart of this crisis is the structure of modern investment vehicles, particularly index funds like those focused on emerging markets. These funds, popular among retail investors and pension plans, often include significant allocations to Chinese companies, many of which are deeply entwined with the CCP’s military-industrial complex.According to a 2021 report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, over 1,200 Chinese firms listed on major US exchanges have ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) or state-directed initiatives that advance Beijing’s authoritarian agenda. Yet, these companies are routinely bundled into broad-based funds like the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, where Chinese firms can account for 30-40% of holdings.The average American investor, seeking diversification or passive income, has no idea their 401(k) or IRA is bankrolling entities like China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, which constructs warships for the PLA, or Hikvision, a global leader in surveillance technology implicated in the Uyghur genocide. A 2020 Department of Defense report identified Hikvision as one of several Chinese firms directly supporting Beijing’s military modernization, yet its stock remains a staple in many investment portfolios. This is not an accident but a deliberate strategy by the CCP to exploit Western capital markets.How does this happen? The answer lies in a combination of lax oversight, regulatory loopholes, and deliberate obfuscation by Chinese firms. Many of these companies operate through complex structures like Variable Interest Entities (VIEs), which allow them to list on US exchanges while shielding their true ownership and activities from scrutiny. A 2022 analysis by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) found that over 150 Chinese firms listed in the US failed to comply with basic auditing standards, raising red flags about transparency and accountability. Despite this, these firms continue to attract billions in American capital.Worse still, some of these companies are on US government blacklists, such as the Department of Commerce’s Entity List, which restricts trade with firms deemed a national security threat. Yet, as Robinson points out, “the capital markets have no equivalent mechanism to enforce these restrictions.” This gap allows blacklisted firms like Huawei or SMIC, China’s leading semiconductor manufacturer, to access American investment through secondary markets or index funds, effectively bypassing sanctions.The CCP’s ambitions extend far beyond financial gain. By capturing Western capital, China is accelerating its quest for global dominance. The Belt & Road Initiative, for instance, has funneled billions into infrastructure projects across Asia, Africa, and Europe, often financed by Western investors through Chinese state-owned banks. These projects are not merely economic; they are strategic, designed to create dependencies and extend Beijing’s geopolitical influence. A 2023 study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that 60% of Belt & Road projects are linked to CCP-controlled entities, many of which are publicly traded and accessible to American investors.Moreover, the technologies funded by these investments—such as AI, quantum computing, and 5G infrastructure—are dual-use, serving both civilian and military purposes. Companies like Tencent and Alibaba, darlings of the investment world, have deep ties to the CCP’s surveillance state. Tencent’s WeChat ...