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WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday (October 13) called on Washington think tanks to reveal foreign funding, warning of Chinese and Russian backing for institutions known for their broad influence. in American politics.
Washington think tanks have for decades served as waiting homes for American experts when they are out of government and more aggressively seeking funding, although foreign money is more likely to come from nations friendly to the United States.
Pompeo called on think tanks seeking to cooperate with the State Department to disclose “prominently” on their websites any foreign funding, even from state-supported entities.
“Disclosure is not a requirement to engage with such entities. However, Department staff will consider whether it has been disclosed and the specific funding sources that are disclosed when determining whether and how to participate,” Pompeo said in a statement. .
“We hope that someday soon, US efforts to promote a free and open dialogue on economic and personal freedom, equal citizenship, the rule of law and authentic civil society will be possible in places like China and Russia.”
In recent months, President Donald Trump’s administration has increased pressure on China, with Pompeo particularly targeting his sources of influence in the United States.
In August, the State Department stepped up regulations for Confucius Institutes, which China has set up at American universities to offer language training, but which critics say follows the official line of the communist state.
Leading American think tanks and universities have opened centers in China, sparking a debate over whether they are sacrificing American principles of free speech to participate in rising power.
But the Center for International Development, a left-wing think tank, in a study this year found that direct funding for Washington think tanks comes overwhelmingly from friendly nations.
Norway was the largest funder, delivering $ 27.7 million from 2014 to 2018 to America’s top 50 think tanks, closely followed by Britain, according to the study.
Norway overwhelmingly gave its money to two think tanks focused on development and the environment.
Other key foreign sources of funding at Washington think tanks include oil-rich Gulf Arab monarchies as well as Taiwan, which has cultivated relationships across Washington as it relies on US support in the face of pressure from Beijing.
