American conglomerate General Electric (GE), recently received an "F" ranking on "an assessment of U.S. Companies’ exposure to military modernization, surveillance, and human rights violations in the People’s Republic of China."
The Corporate Complicity Scorecard, which is funded by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and Horizon Advisory, was the assessment tool used for the evaluation.
According to the scorecard, corporate support for Beijing is displayed through five primary ways: offshoring of manufacturing, offshoring of innovation, partnerships and engagements with Chinese government entities that support the military; compliance with Beijing’s regulatory system; and dependencies on the Chinese market.
Several themes have emerged from the report of the profiled companies: first, U.S. companies are hypocritical by saying one thing in the U.S., yet doing another in China; second, the corporations have off-shored research and development; third, U.S. defense contractors partner with Chinese government and military-tied partners.
GE received an overall "F" on the Corporate Complicity Scorecard. The company received the low score due to its multiple joint ventures and research projects with the Chinese government and its military, its connection to companies tied to human rights violations, and its stake in Chinese military surveillance programs.
The company shares its technology with the Chinese military through its subsidiaries and joint ventures with Chinese government owned or backed companies, according to the report published on the Victimsofcommunism.org site.
GE partnered with the Chinese government to develop international innovation and research centers, which may provide the Chinese government and military access to foreign technology, the report stated. In 2012, Shanghai Jiaotong University and the GE China Research and Development Center created an advanced manufacturing joint laboratory at the University of Michigan.
In 2016, the Tianjin municipal government contracted with GE to create a smart-city project. The smart-city program aligns with China's domestic surveillance efforts, according to the report.
The company has multiple subsidiaries and joint ventures in China. Additionally, GE has seven research and development centers, over 60 laboratories, more than 30 manufacturing bases, and 34 joint ventures across 40 Chinese cities, the report stated.
All of this collaborating with China could put U.S national security at risk, the report claimed, as GE is a major contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The company has also supported international Chinese expansion. In 2017, GE and China Telecom agreed to develop and deploy “services in China through technical cooperation in the industrial Internet field to help implement the Made in China 2025 strategy,” the report stated. The DOD has since identified China Telecom as being affiliated with the Chinese military.
Despite notices warning companies against operating in the Xinjiang region, issued by the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security, GE continues to operate an office in the region. The region is known for its use of forced labor and oppression of the Uyghur ethnic minority, the report stated.