On Thursday, March 5, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China, chaired by John Moolenaar (Republican from Michigan), Brian Mast (Republican from Florida), and Tim Walberg (Republican from Michigan) sent a joint letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, requesting the designation of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) as a foreign mission of the Chinese Communist Party.
If designated as a foreign mission, each regional branch of the CSSA must notify the State Department in advance and obtain approval in order to hold public activities in the United States.
The letter stated that due to the lack of sufficient oversight in the U.S., the CSSA promotes Chinese Communist interests on American campuses, posing serious diplomatic and national security risks. The U.S. Congress passed the Foreign Missions Act in 1982 to ensure equal treatment for American diplomatic and consular missions abroad, as well as regulate foreign missions’ activities on U.S. soil to prevent the abuse of privileges and immunities that could harm the American public and ensure transparency.
The letter cautioned that in recent decades, the increasing presence of missions from hostile nations, especially from the CCP, has posed significant challenges. The CCP utilizes various cover organizations it owns or controls to carry out united front activities in the U.S.
For example, the constitution of the Southwest Chinese Students and Scholars Association (SWCSSA), which covers 42 American universities, clearly states that all activities are supervised and guided by the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles. Consulate officials regularly attend cultural events and banquets organized by the SWCSSA. Student leaders of SWCSSA often participate in united front forums organized by the CCP’s Foreign Affairs office, actively recruiting talents for Chinese companies sanctioned by the U.S., such as Tencent and Ningbo Times New Energy Technology.
The letter specifically mentioned that several CSSA chapter social media accounts across American campuses overtly promote their recognition by the Chinese Consulate General. These chapters include those at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the University of Washington, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. controls the appointment and activities of these student association presidents, with some chapters requiring allegiance pledges to the CCP and its policy goals.
The letter highlighted that the CCP’s united front network operates on a massive scale, operating in parallel with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CCP organizations, and intelligence agencies to influence businesses, associations, universities, think tanks, civil society organizations, public intellectuals, and public opinion worldwide.
As a country with hostile intentions, the activities of the CCP and its missions in the U.S. should be subject to strict scrutiny. A Congressional report from 2024 identified 22 entities as CCP foreign missions, including five embassies/consulates, 13 media outlets, two corporations, and two entities directly tied to the CCP’s united front system, but this only scratches the surface of the vast united front network’s infiltration. The CCP’s united front and infiltration activities in American academia should also be given high priority.
According to a non-classified intelligence assessment by the Office of the National Intelligence Director in 2025, American academic institutions and students are targeted by the CCP for infiltration and influence, with CSSA playing a significant role. These ostensibly university campus clubs, under the supervision and funding of the CCP, are undermining free speech and academic freedom in the U.S., leading to serious national security concerns.
The letter noted that as early as 1970, the Chinese authorities set up the Chinese Students Association to monitor Chinese students overseas, inciting them to oppose viewpoints conflicting with the CCP. This practice continues to this day.
In the 2023-2024 academic year, over 277,000 Chinese students pursued undergraduate and graduate degrees in the U.S. Nearly 200 CSSA chapters nationwide are controlled and enforced by the CCP’s united front departments and the Ministry of Education. A senior official from the CCP’s united front department recently assumed the role of an education commissioner at a major consulate in the U.S., showing a significant overlap between the united front and education departments. The Ministry of Education serves as a cover and front for the CCP’s overseas united front activities and talent recruitment.
Additionally, the Chinese Consulate General directly or indirectly funds CSSA chapters. Various CSSA chapters in universities such as Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgetown, the University of Tennessee, and Florida State openly admit to receiving consulate funding, with the Pittsburgh University CSSA chapter receiving an annual transfer of $6,000 from the CCP.
Finally, the CCP’s dual approach of conducting united front activities and infiltration in the U.S. while denying proper treatment to American diplomatic and consular missions in China must be stopped.
Political activist and policy expert Michael Lucci expressed that the CCP’s control over student associations is pervasive and should have been addressed long ago to eradicate the CCP’s infringement on American campuses.
Account @spotlightoncn pointed out that with overwhelming evidence of CSSA being controlled by the CCP and used as a united front tool, there is no doubt about whether they are purely student clubs or CCP spy organizations.