Foreign Influence in the Campaign against American AI

Bitcoin Policy Institute

A coordinated foreign influence campaign involving China and Russia is actively targeting United States artificial intelligence infrastructure, export controls, and public policy. This multi-vector operation leverages state media, the CCP-aligned Neville Roy Singham nonprofit network, and foreign-billionaire funding to slow American AI development while Beijing accelerates its own domestic capabilities.

These efforts culminated in April 2026 when Chinese government affiliates Zeng Yi and Xue Lan briefed a US Senate panel, coinciding with legislative proposals for a federal data center moratorium. Concurrently, the Singham-funded Tricontinental Institute has spent five years publishing parallel narratives opposing US semiconductor export controls. Furthermore, foreign-tied charitable vehicles have funneled over $2 billion into US advocacy groups driving these anti-data-center campaigns. Ultimately, the Bitcoin Policy Institute warns that American leadership in computing infrastructure remains a bedrock condition for national security in this era of intense Great Power Competition.

Comment

This exposure of sophisticated influence operations targeting critical technology policy carries vital lessons for New Delhi as India accelerates its own national AI and semiconductor missions. While the Western discourse focuses heavily on direct lobbying, the Indian security establishment must remain vigilant against sub-threshold cognitive warfare that exploits domestic environmental and resource concerns to stall strategic infrastructure projects. Furthermore, the report highlights a critical blind spot: the vulnerability of democratic legislative processes to academic and civil society infiltration by state-backed actors under the guise of global cooperation.

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