China’s rapidly expanding automotive industry has emerged as both an economic and national security concern for the United States, according to lawmakers and experts who testified at a U.S. Congressional hearing examining the risks posed by Chinese cars.
At the hearing, titled ‘Trojan Horse: China’s Auto Threat to America,’ participants warned that modern Chinese vehicles, equipped with advanced connectivity, cameras, microphones, and sensors, could function as ‘computers on wheels’ capable of collecting sensitive data, disrupting transport systems, or undermining domestic manufacturing.
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar said China’s rise as the world’s largest auto exporter was not the result of normal market forces but “a political project of the Chinese Communist Party,” driven by heavy state subsidies, tight control over supply chains, and practices that U.S. and allied firms cannot replicate.
He cautioned that connected vehicles could become “potential spy platforms with a kill switch inside,” enabling foreign interference during a crisis. “Modern vehicles are digital eyes and ears on wheels,” Moolenaar said, warning that such systems could be used to siphon data or disable fleets, blocking roads and disrupting logistics.
Ranking committee member Raja Krishnamoorthi said China followed a familiar strategy of forced joint ventures, intellectual property theft, overproduction, and dumping to dominate the auto sector. He noted that China’s vehicle exports grew more than 300% between 2021 and 2024, with some electric vehicles priced below production cost.
“EVs are the future,” Krishnamoorthi said, adding that electric vehicles are expected to account for 60% of global new car sales by 2040. “The question before us now is who will own the EV market in 15 years?”
Elaine Dezenski, senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former U.S. homeland security official, described China’s strategy as one of “massive overcapacity” driven by the state.
She said industrial dumping distorts markets before vehicles even reach showrooms, wiping out competitors and disproportionately harming small and medium-sized suppliers that underpin U.S. auto manufacturing.
“This is not normal industrial competition,” Dezenski said, citing forced technology transfers, price manipulation, forced labor, and deliberate market domination.
Security concerns featured prominently during the hearing. Charles Parton, a former British diplomat and China expert, said vehicle connectivity systems represent an urgent risk, describing cellular modules as ‘the gateway’ to modern cars and wider infrastructure. He noted that China supplies about 70% of these modules globally.
“Why would China fight with America? Why not just turn you off?” Parton said, warning that malware delivered through software updates could disable vehicles, ports, pipelines, or payment systems, while data streams could be exploited for surveillance.
Peter Ludwig, co-founder of automotive software firm Applied Intuition, said Chinese automakers now produce vehicles comparable in quality to Western models but sold for as little as $10,000, enabled by long-term industrial policy, subsidies, and supply chain dominance.
“Chinese vehicles pose the same kinds of risks in the physical world that TikTok represents in the digital world,” Ludwig said, warning that once dependence takes hold, reversing it would be costly and politically difficult.
When asked whether the U.S. should bar Chinese automakers and key suppliers from the domestic market, Ludwig said restrictions were necessary and should go beyond existing Commerce Department rules on connected vehicles.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about forced labor within China’s auto supply chains and the possibility that Chinese firms could use Mexico as a backdoor to the U.S. market through investment and transshipment.
The debate comes amid wider tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade, technology, and national security, with officials increasingly comparing the risks of Chinese vehicles and components to earlier reliance on Huawei telecommunications equipment, which later required expensive removal.
For India, observers note that the Congressional discussion is closely relevant as New Delhi pursues electric mobility and manufacturing ambitions while managing exposure to Chinese dominance in batteries, critical minerals, and automotive components, sectors with both economic and strategic implications.
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