NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the Sister City Transparency Act to identify the risks of foreign espionage, including by Communist China, within sister city partnerships that exist to promote cultural exchange and economic development:

“Communist China is exploiting sister city partnerships to achieve its own strategic objectives, and we need to make certain we are not enabling this activity in our own communities,” said Senator Blackburn. “This legislation would shine a bright light on these partnerships to keep our enemies from furthering their own dangerous agendas.”

“This commonsense bill is an important step towards protecting our security and economy by studying our sister city partnerships with cities across the world,” said Senator Tillis. “We must ensure sister city partnerships don't expose us to harmful market practices, limit free speech, or support foreign interests that undermine our values.”

Click here to download a video of Senator Blackburn discussing her Sister City Transparency Act.

BACKGROUND

• The United States maintains 1,800 sister city partnerships with countries worldwide, including 157 partnerships with Chinese communities. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has begun using these partnerships to achieve geostrategic objectives.

• The CCP hides behind soft diplomacy and mutual benefit until its foreign partners exhibit political nonconformity. Thus, similar to Confucius Institutes, sister city partnerships may leave American communities vulnerable to foreign espionage and ideological coercion.

• Little information currently exists regarding sister city partnerships operating within the U.S because such partnerships generally fail to publicize information regarding their agreements, activities, and employees. This impedes proper oversight and could enable malign activity.

SISTER CITY TRANSPARENCY ACT

The Sister City Transparency Act would create a Government Accountability Office report on sister city partnerships in the U.S. It would direct the Comptroller General to study partnerships involving foreigncommunities in countries with significant public sector corruption like Communist China and the Russian Federation. The study would:

• Identify the oversight practices that U.S. communities implement to mitigate the risks of foreign espionage and economic coercion within sister city partnerships;

• Assess the extent to which foreign communities could use sister city partnerships to conduct malign activities, including academic and industrial espionage; and

• Review best practices to ensure transparency regarding sister city partnerships’ agreements, activities, and employees.