On Wednesday, the CECC will hold a hearing on the “Long Arm of China” to expose Chinese efforts to gain political influence, control discussion of sensitive topics, interfere in multilateral institutions, threaten and intimidate human rights defenders, impose censorship on foreign publishers and influence academic institutions.

Rubio pointed to Chinese government-sponsored Confucius Institutes on U.S. university campuses that operate under opaque contracts and often stand accused of interfering in China-related education activities. China’s sponsorship of think tank research, academic chairs and intellectual partnerships also demand scrutiny, he said…

By influencing the influencers, China gets Americans to carry its message to other Americans. That’s much more effective than having Chinese officials deliver those messages, said Glenn Tiffert, visiting fellow at the Hudson Institution.