GOP Lawmakers Alarmed Over Planned CCP-Linked Kansas Facility

From Newsmax.com (Feb. 2):

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., are among eight Republican lawmakers who are asking the Biden administration to investigate the planned investment in a manufacturing facility in Kansas by Cnano Technologies, USA Inc., which has alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Schmitt, Alford, Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Reps. Eric Burlison, Sam Graves and Blaine Luetkemeyer from Missouri and Jake LaTurner from Kansas signed on to a letter sent Thursday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to investigate the planned $95 million investment in the 330,000-square-foot facility.

They requested the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States investigate the facility, which would be 35 miles from Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, and about 20 miles from Kansas City National Security Campus and 70 miles from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Alarms have been raised across the country about entities with ties to the CCP buying land in the U.S., especially near vital U.S. military facilities. Alabama and Florida are among the states to pass legislation preventing Chinese entities and Chinese citizens from purchasing land.

The lawmakers wrote that ties between Cnano Technologies and the CCP were uncovered in research by The Heritage Foundation and The Daily Caller. They noted The Daily Caller reported in December that Cnano Jiangsu Technology Co., which oversees Cnano Technologies USA's owner (C-Nano Technology Co.) participated in the Chinese government's "863 Program," which supports the development of China's military and "provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire U.S. technology and sensitive economic information," according to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence.

"It would be entirely unacceptable and a national security risk for [Cnano Technologies USA] and any Chinese-owned entity to establish itself in the backyard of Whiteman AFB, Kansas City National Security Campus and Fort Leavenworth," the lawmakers wrote.

Whiteman Air Force Base is the only operational B-2 bomber base and second preferred location to receive the new B-21 bomber.

"It's paramount that we protect the assets at this installation from any possible espionage efforts from the CCP," the lawmakers wrote. "The B-2 represents a critical leg of our nuclear triad, projecting American air power and deterring adversaries strategically and conventionally. The B-21 is our nation's next-generation version of this capability and will be the backbone of our bomber force.

"Fort Leavenworth also represents a critical part of our national security and readiness with the Command and General Staff College educating nearly 5,000 U.S. Army majors and interagency personnel annually. As the home of the US Army Combined Arms Center, the Intellectual Center of the Army, Fort Leavenworth plays a crucial role in force modernization as we prepare for enemies that are better equipped and trained than any we have faced in decades."

Kansas City National Security Campus is 1 of 8 sites that make up the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the site is responsible for the manufacturing of 80% of nonnuclear components that go into the nation's nuclear stockpile, the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers requested a response by Yellen and Austin by Feb. 16 "detailing your plan to include Whiteman Air Force Base, Kansas City National Security Campus and Fort Leavenworth in the next list of installations to be reviewed by CFIUS pursuant to section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950."

Newsmax reached out to the Treasury Department and Defense Department for comment. [source]

I don't blame the lawmakers. There's no reason why the Chi-Coms would build a facility close to a military base other than to spy on it.