Why Is the US Military Still Dependent on China?

Why does the US Department of Defense (DOD) still find itself dependent on China? Despite years of efforts to reduce reliance on Beijing for raw materials, semiconductors, and other crucial supply chain items, the United States remains entangled in a web of weapons systems and equipment supply chains with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Some Success in Reducing Reliance on China

The DOD must identify the suppliers and what they supply to make progress in weaning the Defense Department from Chinese companies and the critical defense systems and components provided. Sounds basic, doesn’t it? To that end, Govini, Inc., a software development company focused on defense acquisition processes, released the 2024 National Security Scorecard on June 13. It is a comprehensive and detailed “analysis across 15 critical technology areas essential for US defense and national security … This edition provides a nuanced understanding of the Defense Acquisition Process, revealing the intricate interplay among government agencies, contractors, and suppliers,” the company’s web page explains. Govini uses a proprietary data gathering and analysis tool that “scrutinizes government spending trends, private innovation, and supply chain dynamics.”

When it looked at foreign suppliers providing “critical technologies” to individual military services, the year-over-year (YOY) change was not encouraging. Defense One’s portrayal of the Govini data shows that the US Army has reduced its reliance on China by 17% and the US Navy by 41%. That’s where the good news ends. The US Air Force’s PRC supplier YOY percentage increased by 69%. The aggregate of DOD agencies, supposedly leading the effort to reduce reliance on China, increased the Chinese supplier count by 38%.

Reliance on Chinese suppliers and critical technological components is one of many issues facing the Pentagon. A June 2023 investigation by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party revealed the DOD was funding university technology research open to the Chinese. The committee found that Alfred University continued to host the Confucius Institute, which is tied to a Chinese research university.

DOD Has a Big Challenge

Admittedly, the DOD has a challenge. The Defense Department must acquire new capability in its weapon systems, and new capability means more state-of-the-art semiconductors and microelectronics to control weapon operations and performance. Those components are often unavailable domestically and must be sourced from tech companies in other nations. Nonetheless, all military services are obligated to safeguard the supply chains that make the new capabilities possible.