Think tank founder faces scrutiny over China corporate ties despite decoupling advocacy

Oren Cass, founder of the Washington-based think tank American Compass, has built a reputation as one of the right’s most outspoken advocates for economic nationalism and “strategic decoupling” from Beijing. 

Yet recent details about the group’s corporate partnerships and staff affiliations raise questions about consistency between its rhetoric and its operations.

In essays and media appearances, Cass has argued that the United States must take a tougher stance toward China and prioritize domestic manufacturing and independence from Chinese supply chains. 

In a 2023 Foreign Affairs essay, Cass and a colleague warned that the U.S. “must break from China or else become irrevocably corrupted by it,” arguing that economic interdependence had already “weakened America’s industrial base and constrained its political will.”

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In the same essay, Cass and his co-author argued that China’s influence extended deep into U.S. research and policy institutions.

“China has long targeted U.S. universities, think tanks and research institutes to extract economic gain and advance its own ideological agenda,” they wrote, adding that such organizations “must accept processes and controls designed to ensure the integrity and security of their work.”

They went further, calling for legal restrictions. “U.S. law should be changed to prohibit these institutions from entering into any partnerships with China-based and affiliated entities. Any funding flowing from one nation’s institutions to the other’s must be stopped.”

Lawmakers from both parties have long raised concerns that the Chinese government exploits educational exchanges, research partnerships and business investments in the U.S. as cover for espionage activities. These warnings have intensified in recent years amid growing scrutiny of Beijing’s influence operations on U.S. soil.

On July 28, 2025, Cass joined a group of policymakers and national security experts in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing “deep concern” over the decision to resume exports of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China.

The group warned that the Trump administration’s move “represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States’ economic and military edge in artificial intelligence.” He reiterated his stance during a conversation on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast where he argued against lifting export restrictions on advanced computer chips bound for China.

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And yet, Cass’s uncompromising rhetoric on China appears at odds with the realities of operating a Washington think tank in a globalized economy.

In June 2025, American Compass hosted a lavish fifth-anniversary gala at Washington’s National Building Museum, an event underwritten in part by Qualcomm, BlackRock, and Google — companies whose global operations remain deeply intertwined with China’s economy.

China is the world’s second-largest economy and a key trading partner for U.S. companies, making such financial entanglements common across Washington’s policy landscape.

Fox News Digital reached out to Qualcomm, BlackRock and Google for comment; none responded before publication.

What’s more, American Compass’s staffing and advisory relationships have also prompted questions. The organization’s director of events and operations previously worked for Alibaba Group, one of China’s largest tech companies.

Additionally, an economist on the group’s advisory board is also a professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, a leading business institution with close ties to China’s Communist Party.

Cass and American Compass did not return multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

While none of these associations are illegal or unusual in Washington, they complicate Cass’ image as a champion of economic separation from China and highlight the difficulty of pursuing that ideal while relying on corporate sponsors.