Commentary
In 1999, Congress tasked the Department of Defense with publicizing an annual list of Chinese military companies. The task was a concession to those opposed to the hurried—and woefully shortsighted—Clinton-era push to grant China permanent normal trade relations status. But that 1999 tasking proved to be an empty gesture: The Department spent the twenty years that followed ignoring the requirement. It wasn’t until decades later, when the charge to craft the list was reiterated in the National Defense Authorization Act’s Section 1260H, that the Secretary of Defense published an initial set of Chinese Military Companies.
