CCP-Linked Ownership in U.S. Solar Firms Raises Serious National Security Concerns Amid America’s Green Energy Transition
China’s expanding presence in the global solar supply chain has long been recognized as a geopolitical challenge, but new evidence of Chinese Communist Party–linked equity stakes in North American solar companies receiving U.S. federal incentives exposes a far deeper vulnerability. A recent Fox News report highlighted how companies such as Canadian Solar and T1 Energy, both tied directly or indirectly to CCP-controlled entities, have positioned themselves to benefit from the incentives crafted under the Inflation Reduction Act. This development reveals a strategic pattern: Beijing quietly embedding itself into America’s renewable energy infrastructure at a moment when the United States is heavily investing in domestic clean energy production. The pattern is subtle yet unmistakable, demonstrating how China exploits policy gaps, corporate structures, and global capital flows to entrench influence in sectors that are critical to America’s future.
Although barriers were established to prevent Chinese firms from dominating the U.S. solar industry through direct exports, many companies with substantial Chinese footprints have successfully sidestepped these restrictions by establishing North American subsidiaries that appear local while still maintaining operational, financial, and political dependence on the Chinese government and CCP-linked investors. In several cases, these firms openly acknowledge their exposure to CCP intervention in filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, creating a paradox in which U.S. tax incentives intended to foster American clean energy independence instead risk strengthening China’s already staggering control over global solar production. This structural vulnerability is not theoretical. It is happening now, it is measurable, and it is shaping the evolution of America’s renewable energy landscape.
Canadian Solar, for example, was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Qu Xiaohua and retains the bulk of its manufacturing operations in China, even though its corporate headquarters are in Ontario. Despite the company’s Canadian branding, its close operational alignment with China remains undeniable. The company’s own SEC filings warn that the CCP may intervene in its operations at any time. Yet, Canadian Solar has been publicly celebrated by U.S. political leaders as a major beneficiary of the federal green energy push. After the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, the company committed $250 million to a Texas solar module plant. Senate Democrats praised this as an example of the law’s early success, despite the firm’s well-documented reliance on Chinese labor, manufacturing, and state subsidies.
Similarly, Trina Solar—a major Chinese photovoltaic giant run by Gao Jifan, a delegate of the National People’s Congress—maintains strategic influence over T1 Energy, a U.S. firm that qualifies for IRA tax incentives. Trina owns between 16% and 25% of T1, enough to secure board seats and maintain influence while staying under the regulatory threshold that would classify T1 as a “Foreign Entity of Concern.” By keeping ownership just below that threshold, CCP-linked actors gain access to U.S. taxpayer-funded incentives without triggering federal safeguards designed to limit Chinese influence in sectors vital to national security.
This tactic reflects a broader pattern in which Chinese entities collaborate with Western intermediary firms, Caribbean shell companies, or restructured subsidiaries to avoid detection or regulatory scrutiny. For instance, a Caribbean-domiciled company linked to the wife of a Trina executive holds an additional stake in T1 Energy, effectively extending CCP influence through an offshore ownership chain. The layering of corporate structures mirrors methods used by Chinese firms to circumvent export controls, intellectual property protections, and investment restrictions in sectors such as semiconductors, telecommunications, and aerospace. The solar energy sector is becoming another frontier for these maneuvers.
This raises serious national security concerns for the United States. Solar energy is no longer merely an environmental or economic issue—it is a central pillar of America’s energy future, and therefore a strategic vulnerability. As more states adopt ambitious renewable energy targets and federal policy funnels billions into solar incentives, dependence on companies with CCP entanglements risks allowing China to shape the supply chains that underpin U.S. critical infrastructure. The CCP has repeatedly shown a willingness to weaponize economic leverage, as seen in its coercion campaigns against Australia, Lithuania, South Korea, and Japan. Allowing CCP-influenced companies to gain a foothold in America’s solar manufacturing ecosystem could expose the U.S. to similar pressure in the future.
Additionally, Chinese dominance in solar manufacturing is already supported by substantial state subsidies, estimated at more than $140 million in recent years for companies like Trina Solar. These subsidies distort global markets and push Western competitors into price races they cannot win, creating an environment where Chinese-backed firms thrive artificially and consolidate global market control. If U.S. clean energy incentives unintentionally reinforce this imbalance, America risks deepening its dependence on Chinese-controlled supply chains at the very moment it has sought to reverse them.
Lawmakers have begun raising alarms. Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, has warned that tens of billions in IRA tax credits could ultimately benefit CCP-linked entities unless strict guardrails are implemented. His proposed “No Gotion Act”—named after another controversial Chinese-affiliated company—seeks to codify limitations on subsidies for firms from adversarial nations. Similarly, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, chair of the House Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee, has stressed that America cannot afford to repeat past blind spots, referencing the slow recognition of threats posed by Huawei and TikTok. Both lawmakers highlight a growing bipartisan concern: that China’s strategy of embedding itself in key global industries represents one of the most significant threats to U.S. sovereignty and security.
This concern extends beyond energy. China’s industrial policy increasingly fuses economic expansion with political influence campaigns, military-civil fusion initiatives, and aggressive intelligence collection. SEC filings from Chinese-affiliated companies repeatedly acknowledge the risk of CCP intervention, yet these same firms market themselves as American-based energy partners, seeking federal incentives designed to strengthen domestic production. The contradiction is stark: U.S. taxpayers are indirectly supporting the global ambitions of a geopolitical rival while American firms struggle to compete.
If unaddressed, this dynamic could undermine the very goals the United States hopes to achieve—energy independence, technological leadership, and reliable domestic supply chains. A future in which American solar infrastructure relies on firms vulnerable to CCP control is a future in which the United States may find its energy policies, industrial capacity, and national security increasingly shaped by Beijing’s strategic interests. The U.S. cannot afford to ignore that risk. Vigilant oversight, transparent ownership disclosure, and rigorous enforcement of foreign entity restrictions must become central components of America’s clean energy strategy. As the U.S. transitions toward renewable energy, it must do so with a full understanding of how Beijing seeks to influence, infiltrate, and ultimately dominate emerging sectors of the global economy.
America is entering a decisive decade in the competition between democratic resilience and authoritarian expansion. Ensuring that the nation’s energy transition is not quietly captured by CCP-linked entities is essential for protecting U.S. sovereignty and safeguarding America’s long-term strategic interests.
