{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.banks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-banks-calls-on-secretary-hegseth-to-blacklist-chinese-engine-maker-with-ties-to-pla/", "Sen. Banks Calls on Secretary Hegseth to Blacklist Chinese Engine Maker with Ties to PLA", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Jim Banks", "B001299", "www.banks.senate.gov", "banks", "https://www.banks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "Weichai engines are used in rocket systems supplied to the Chinese military\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth urging the Department of War to add Weichai Holding Group Co. Ltd. to its Chinese Military Companies list.\n\nWeichai is wholly-owned by a Chinese state-controlled enterprise and works with blacklisted Chinese defense companies. China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO)\u2014a Chinese state-owned defense manufacturer\u2014uses Weichai engines in a multiple-launch rocket system supplied to the People\u2019s Liberation Army, and Weichai has also partnered with a subsidiary of the blacklisted China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.\n\nIn the letter, Banks argues that Weichai\u2019s ownership structure, defense partnerships and role in China\u2019s military-civil fusion strategy meet the criteria for designation as a Chinese military company. He urges the Department of War to add Weichai to the 1260H List to protect U.S. national security and prevent Chinese military-linked companies from operating in the United States without appropriate scrutiny.\n\nRead the full letter here.\n\nDear Secretary Hegseth:\n\nI am writing to bring to your attention the U.S. national security risk posed by Weichai Holding Group Co. Ltd. (Weichai) and urge you to add it to the Department of War\u2019s Chinese Military Companies List (1260H List). Weichai, based in the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC), manufactures diesel engines that are sold in more than 150 countries including the United States.\n\nAs you know, Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 requires the Secretary of War to publish a list of \u201cChinese military companies.\u201d Under the statute, a Chinese military company includes entities identified as a military-civil fusion contributor to China\u2019s defense industrial base. Among the statutory criteria, an entity qualifies as a military-civil fusion contributor if it is affiliated with China\u2019s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) or the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC). Weichai\u2019s ownership structure, state backing, and partnerships with entities of concern appear to satisfy these criteria.\n\nWeichai is wholly owned by Shandong Heavy Industry Group, a state-owned enterprise supervised and controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the Shandong Provincial Government. This body maintains control over the company\u2019s strategic direction, and SASAC praised Weichai for \u201cbuilding a \u2018Benchmark\u2019 or High-Quality Development among State-Owned Enterprises.\u201d In 2019, Shandong Heavy Industry Group established a People\u2019s Armed Forces Department (PAFD) that reports to the Shandong Provincial Military District, and this group owns or holds controlling stakes in companies worldwide including the French diesel engine manufacturer Baudouin Motors. At a minimum, this ownership structure provides access to strategic resources and assets held by its overseas subsidiaries. Like all major state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Weichai also houses an active internal CCP committee that oversees major business decisions to ensure they align with the party\u2019s political directives.\n\nWeichai\u2019s collaborations with PRC defense companies are equally concerning. NORINCO, a blacklisted Chinese military company that supplies the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA), procures Weichai engines for use in the PHL-11 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). Weichai also signed a cooperation agreement with Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., a subsidiary of the blacklisted China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), further demonstrating its integration into China\u2019s defense industrial base.\n\nMoreover, Weichai supports the State Key Laboratory of Engine and Powertrain System, one of the PRC\u2019s more than 500 State Key Laboratories (SKL). SKL\u2019s are part of a PRC government-directed research network that seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign technologies. PRC central government planning documents describe SKLs as \u201cvital components of China\u2019s innovation ecosystem.\u201d SKLs receive central government funding to advance strategic technologies for both commercial and military use, making Weichai a key participant in China\u2019s military-civil fusion strategy.\n\nIn addition to its role in military-civil fusion, Weichai works directly with foreign defense entities of concern and firms that have been sanctioned by the U.S. government. In 2016, Weichai signed a cooperation agreement with Belarus\u2019 MAZ group \u2013 sanctioned by the Treasury department in 2023 \u2013 to build diesel engines. It also established a joint venture with Kamaz, a Russian supplier of trucks to the Russian Ministry of Defense, and signed a cooperation agreement with Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the blacklisted China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC).\n\nEqually alarming is Weichai\u2019s subsidiaries and members that maintain extensive ties to Chinese government industrial initiatives, state-funded research programs, and defense-linked institutions:\n\nShaanxi Heavy Duty Automobile Co., a Weichai subsidiary, participates in multiple national high-tech and Ministry of Science and Technology research programs.\n\nShaanxi Fast Gear Co., a Weichai subsidiary, explicitly identifies the Belt and Road Initiative and \u201cMade in China\u201d strategy as key drivers for its growth.\n\nShaanxi HanDe Axle Co., founded by Weichai, has received funding from the Baoji Municipal Bureau of Industry and Technology Provincial Fund for automotive industry development. It also has partnered with Xi\u2019an Jiaotong University, a defense-linked institution supervised by the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) that conducts classified military research and has strategic partnerships with major Chinese defense contractors. HanDe Axle has also received provincial science and technology awards, underscoring its integration into China\u2019s state-directed innovation ecosystem.\n\nCollectively, these relationships between Weichai\u2019s members and the CCP demonstrate its connections to the CCP\u2019s industrial policy, government support, and collaboration with institutions that directly advance China\u2019s military-civil fusion strategy and defense industrial base. Weichai\u2019s work has even earned the praise of General Secretary Xi Jinping, who remarked in 2018 that \u201cWeichai has handed in a brilliant result with ten years of development.\u201d The information above seems to indicate that Weichai meets the definition of a Chinese military\n\ncompany and thus should be listed on the 1260H list.\n\nThank you for your attention to this critical national security matter. I am ready to work with the Department of War to ensure that our nation\u2019s industry remains secure from potential foreign threats.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJim Banks\n\nU.S. Senator\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.banks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-banks-calls-on-secretary-hegseth-to-blacklist-chinese-engine-maker-with-ties-to-pla/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8041909895837307, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}