Kansas Congressman Jake LaTurner is concerned about a Chinese technology firm planning to build in Johnson County.
In a January 8 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, LaTurner recommended that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US investigate Cnano Technology USA’s Johnson County facility’s national security risks. Significant U.S. national security installations would be nearby including Kansas City National Security Campus (Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies), 21 miles away, Fort Leavenworth, 35 miles, Whiteman Air Force Base, 70 miles, and Fort Riley, 105 miles.
LaTurner
LaTurner, a Republican, believes Cnano Technology USA’s parent company, Jiangsu Cnano Technology Co., has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), making the plant’s location a problem. The link was verified in a report published December 22, 2023 by the Daily Caller and other national media outlets.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, State Senate President Ty Masterson (R-Andover) and House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita) also received letters urging immediate action to prevent the CCP from expanding footholds in Kansas.
In his letter to Austin and Yellen, the Kansas lawmaker links Jiangsu Nano Technology to Project 863, which “provides funding and guidance for efforts to clandestinely acquire U.S. technology and sensitive economic information” according to the U.S. intelligence community.
“Their CEO has addressed [China’s communist-controlled legislature], they have received funding, and they have very strong ties to the CCP through their 863 program,” LaTurner stated on “China in Focus.”
Cnano wants to build a Johnson County factory to create liquid conductive paste for lithium-ion batteries and smartphone touch displays. In August 2023, Cnano unveiled the new facility plans. He said the $94.7 million project will build a 333,000-square-foot complex with 112 jobs and $7.1 million in salary.
Chinese investments and development projects in the US have been scrutinized in recent years due to concerns that Chinese operatives may steal US intellectual property and scientific advances.
Fort Leavenworth, “the intellectual hub of the United States Army,” houses the Army’s Combined Arms Center. The site hosts the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, which offers graduate leadership and command courses.
The new Cnano facility raises concerns about CCP sabotage and penetration of American supply lines, he said.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice