Memphis Standard

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee and Thom Tillis from North Carolina have jointly introduced a new bill aimed at identifying potential espionage risks within sister city partnerships, particularly those involving Chinese communities. The Sister City Transparency Act seeks to increase oversight and transparency to protect against foreign influence and espionage orchestrated by Communist China through these partnerships.

Senator Blackburn stated, “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.” Senator Tillis added, “This commonsense bill is an important step towards protecting our security and economy by studying our sister city partnerships with cities across the world. 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.”

The U.S. currently maintains approximately 1,800 sister city partnerships with various countries, with 157 of these being in China. The senators raised concerns that under the guise of mutual benefit, the Chinese Communist Party might use these partnerships for strategic purposes, potentially leaving American communities vulnerable to foreign espionage and ideological coercion.

The bill proposes a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to examine these partnerships. It would require the Comptroller General to study the partnerships involving countries known for public sector corruption, such as China and Russia. This report aims to identify oversight practices by U.S. communities, assess potential exploitations for malign activities like espionage, and review best practices for ensuring transparency.

The initiative comes with a background of little information available concerning the operations and agreements of these partnerships within the U.S., which could hinder oversight and potentially allow for malicious activities.

For more information, a video of Senator Blackburn discussing the Sister City Transparency Act is available for download.