China's Quiet Playbook: How Beijing Gets Americans to Spread Its Message

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A Hearing on "Trojan Horses"

The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia held a hearing this week called "Trojan Horses: Covert Foreign Malign Influence Operations in America." Lawmakers wanted to understand one thing: how do foreign governments get American citizens, nonprofits, and media voices to unknowingly (or knowingly) carry their message?

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said the goal of the hearing was to expose these operations before they can do more damage. He argued that hostile governments increasingly use domestic groups and personalities as stand-ins, rather than speaking through official channels.

Among the witnesses was Matthew Johnson, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation who studies Chinese Communist Party (CCP) strategy. His central argument: Beijing doesn't need to convince Americans to love the Communist Party. It just needs American voices to carry water for Chinese interests without anyone noticing where the message really came from.

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Why "Made in America" Propaganda Works Better

Johnson's core point is about optics. If the Chinese government pushes a message directly, Americans are naturally suspicious. But if the same message comes from a U.S. professor, activist group, or policy commentator, it looks like ordinary domestic debate.

According to Johnson, one of Beijing's current priorities is slowing down U.S. progress in artificial intelligence and data-center infrastructure — an area China's leadership sees as central to competing with Washington. He said this influence effort blends grassroots activism with quieter attempts to shape opinion among academics and policy experts.

The strategic payoff for Beijing isn't necessarily winning Americans over to communism. It's shifting the terms of the debate — for example, framing calls for peaceful coexistence with China in a way that downplays the broader competition between the two powers, while Beijing continues pursuing a world order shaped more heavily around itself.

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Following the Money: The Singham Network

The hearing comes as Congress continues digging into a nonprofit funding network linked to Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech entrepreneur now based in Shanghai. Investigators and lawmakers say Singham has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars — estimates range from roughly $278 million to $285 million since 2017 — into a cluster of nonprofits, activist groups, and media operations in the U.S. and abroad.

The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., has been investigating whether these groups function as a pipeline for pro-CCP narratives while enjoying U.S. tax-exempt status. The Senate Judiciary Committee has separately asked the Justice Department to look into whether some of these organizations should register as foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

The scrutiny has escalated further: the Department of Justice has reportedly opened a federal grand jury investigation into Singham over allegations of wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering tied to how funds moved from Shanghai into the United States. Singham and the organizations linked to him have denied acting on behalf of the Chinese government, and no criminal charges have been filed as of this report.

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CodePink's Role

One of the most visible groups tied to Singham's funding is CodePink, the anti-war activist organization co-founded by Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans — Singham's wife. CodePink has organized disruptive protests on Capitol Hill for years and runs a campaign called "China Is Not Our Enemy," which argues the U.S. should pursue cooperation with Beijing instead of confrontation.

Critics, including several Republican lawmakers, argue that this framing conveniently lines up with Chinese Communist Party interests, even if the money technically comes from Singham rather than the Chinese government directly. CodePink denies promoting CCP talking points.

The group has also drawn attention for organizing trips to Cuba, another country named in this week's hearing alongside China and Iran as a source of influence operations aimed at the U.S.

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The Bigger Picture

This hearing didn't emerge in a vacuum. U.S. counterintelligence officials have previously warned that China is stepping up efforts to influence American state and local officials, using them as indirect channels to push Washington toward more Beijing-friendly positions. Officials describe these tactics as often "deceptive and coercive," disguised as ordinary business ties or academic exchanges.

Johnson's testimony reinforces that warning at the federal level: the real risk isn't a foreign government openly making its case. It's a foreign government succeeding without ever being named — leaving Americans to debate what looks like a purely domestic disagreement, unaware of where some of the underlying narrative originated.

For now, Congress has more questions than answers about how deep this influence network runs. But the direction of the investigation — from tax filings to a federal grand jury — suggests lawmakers intend to keep pulling the thread.

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Sources

1. Fox News Digital — "China expert warns Beijing wants Americans — not the CCP — to spread its message": https://www.foxnews.com/politics/china-expert-warns-beijing-wants-americans-not-ccp-spread-its-message
2. Fox News Digital — "'Trojan horses' in America: Congress probes influence networks tied to China, Iran and Cuba": https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trojan-horses-america-congress-probes-influence-networks-tied-china-iran-cuba
3. CBS News — "Husband of Code Pink founder being investigated under federal foreign agent and tax laws": https://www.cbsnews.com/news/husband-code-pink-founder-neville-roy-singham-investigation-tax-laws/
4. House Ways and Means Committee (official) — "Chairman Smith Exposes U.S. Nonprofit as Likely CCP-Funded Propaganda Arm Operating Under Tax-Exempt Status": https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/09/04/chairman-smith-exposes-u-s-nonprofit-as-likely-ccp-funded-propaganda-arm-operating-under-tax-exempt-status/

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