Chinese foreign direct investment should trigger American national security concerns, but much of it doesn’t. In this ‘behind closed doors’ talk at LABScon 24, Elly Rostoum reveals why and what can be done to improve our understanding of the influence of Chinese FDI.
Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) enabled the technology revolution in China and set China as a strategic competitor to the United States. It opened new global markets, redrew trade routes, tapped into intellectual property, allowed for opportunities in industrial espionage, reshaped supply chains, and allowed for technological breakthroughs in genomics, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other critical and emerging technologies that are quite simply re-imagining the world.
But who exactly owns the Chinese firms undertaking this FDI?
The research presented by Elly Rostoum in this LABScon 2024 keynote address tracks the incorporation structures and ownership of the 672 Chinese firms undertaking FDI globally.
Taking the audience on a journey from how Chinese FDI triggers – and sometimes fails to trigger – American national security concerns to the complex ownership structure of Chinese businesses operating within the U.S., Elly Rostoum reveals how the Chinese government has been able to evade American national security reviews by instrumentalizing investment through 3rd & 4th+ level subsidiaries, private equity, and holding companies.
While much policy and attention has been focused on the investments of Chinese state-owned enterprises, Elly Rostoum argues that the real threat is “within” and buried in the details: seemingly “American” businesses that are ultimately owned by Chinese investment companies.
About the Author
Elly Rostoum is a former U.S. Intelligence Analyst and National Security Council staffer at the White House. She is the Managing Director of the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she teaches courses on national security vulnerabilities of critical and emerging technologies, intelligence, public policy, strategic studies, and energy markets; with a regional expertise covering China and the Middle East.
About LABScon
This presentation was featured live at LABScon 2024, an immersive 3-day conference bringing together the world’s top cybersecurity minds, hosted by SentinelOne’s research arm, SentinelLabs.
Keep up with all the latest on LABScon 2025 here.
