House Committee Subpoenas Chinese Telecom Giants After Refusal to Disclose CCP and Military Links

Washington, D.C. —  The House Select Committee on China has issued subpoenas to three Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies—China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom—after the companies failed to respond to a formal bipartisan congressional request for information sent on March 4. These subpoenas demand compliance by May 7, 2025, and are part of an ongoing investigation into whether the firms are continuing to operate in the United States in ways that could impact national security and Americans’ data privacy.

Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) previously barred all three companies from providing licensed telecom services in the U.S., public reporting and intelligence have raised concerns that they may still maintain equipment, software, and cloud infrastructure on American soil that could threaten US national security. 

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) stated, “These companies were blocked from U.S. networks because of their direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure. The CCP’s refusal to play by the rules—and these companies’ refusal to provide basic transparency—is unacceptable. Congress will not stand idly by while the Chinese government exploits loopholes to threaten our national security.”

Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) added, "China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom don’t just threaten U.S. national security—they’ve also blatantly defied a lawful congressional investigation. With these bipartisan subpoenas, they now face a clear choice: comply with the law or face the consequences. As the Chinese Communist Party wages aggressive cyberattacks and undermines Americans’ privacy, we will accept nothing less than full compliance. Chinese state-owned entities are not above the law.

The Committee is investigating what activities these companies are conducting in the US—such as maintaining network Points of Presence (PoPs), data centers, or cloud-related services—and the risks these activities could pose to national security. While the Committee continues to gather facts, this action underscores the growing bipartisan concern in Congress about the risk posed by state-owned enterprises with ties to foreign intelligence services.

An exclusive Reuters report detailing the subpoenas and the investigation can be found here.

Should the companies continue to withhold cooperation, the Committee is prepared to consider further steps to ensure accountability and transparency.

###