Key Points
CCP-linked CEO runs critical defence manufacturing company
S&L Aerospace supplies US military aircraft parts
Wang photographed with senior Communist Party members
National security experts warn of potential infiltration
S&L Aerospace Metals LLC, a New York-based company that is a member of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) council on critical manufacturing, has been given tens of millions of dollars in defence contracts by the Department of Defence (DOD) for parts for fighter jets, attack helicopters, and guided missile launchers, DCNF reported.
DCNF outlined that S&L's CEO Jerry Wang, whose Chinese name is Wang Jue, has been named as an official for several CCP influence and intelligence groups, according to Chinese government and state media reports. This raises questions about the defence contractor's ties to Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Communist Party leaders.
DCNF reported that Wang denied any affiliation with "foreign political entities" through his attorney; however, he did not deny being photographed with senior Party members at various CCP and Chinese government intelligence agency events.
"Allowing someone with Wang's background access to the inner workings of U.S. supply chains and critical manufacturing vulnerabilities is a glaring national security failure," said L.J. Eads, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst. "It's incredibly naive to think that the CCP will play by the rules when we hand them a front-row seat to our most sensitive industries," as quoted by the DCNF.
"Our defence industrial base is dangerously dependent on our foremost adversary. Reports that individuals linked to the CCP United Front are in control of key U.S. defence contractors are shocking," Michigan Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, told the DCNF. "No entity or individual affiliated with the CCP United Front, an organisation dedicated to advancing CCP interests, should ever have been allowed to infiltrate our defence supply chains. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg, and we must urgently address these vulnerabilities to safeguard our national security," DCNF quoted.
