By Michael Dorgan, FOX NEWS September 15, 2026

Congress will examine how foreign adversaries — particularly China — seek to influence American public opinion and policymaking at a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

One of the expert witnesses told Fox News Digital ahead of the hearing that Beijing’s greater advantage lies in shaping debate inside the United States through American organizations rather than direct Chinese propaganda.

Matthew Johnson, a China expert and senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, said Beijing increasingly seeks to influence debates over national security and other strategic issues by working through American institutions and organizations, making its messages appear homegrown rather than directed by the Chinese government.