Chinese Communist Party Influence Transparency Act

To amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to repeal the exemption from registration under such Act for persons providing private and nonpolitical representation of trade and commercial interests, and the exemption from registration under such Act for persons filing disclosure reports under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, in connection with the representation of business organizations organized under the laws of or having their principal place of business in the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Chinese Communist Party Influence Transparency Act 2. Repealing certain exemptions from registration under Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 by agents representing Chinese business organizations (a) In general The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended ( 22 U.S.C. 611 et seq. 3A. Special rules for agents representing Chinese business organizations (a) Repeal of exemption from registration for persons providing private and nonpolitical representation of bona fide trade or commercial interests Section 3(d)(1) shall not apply to an agent of a covered Chinese business organization. (b) Repeal of exemption from registration for persons filing disclosure reports under Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (1) Repeal Section 3(h) shall not apply to an agent of a covered Chinese business organization. (2) Timing for filing of registration statements In the case of an agent of a covered Chinese business organization who has registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 ( 2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. 2 U.S.C. 1604 (c) Covered Chinese business organization defined In this section, the term covered Chinese business organization (1) an entity described in section 1(b)(3) which is organized under the laws of, or has its principal place of business in, the People’s Republic of China (including any subsidiary or affiliate of such an entity), except that such term does not include a subsidiary or affiliate of an entity which is organized under the laws of, and has its principal place of business in, a country other than the People’s Republic of China; or (2) an entity designated by the Attorney General as subject to the extrajudicial direction of the Chinese Communist Party. . (b) Conforming amendments (1) Repeal of exemption Section 3 of such Act ( 22 U.S.C. 613 (A) in subsection (d)(1), by striking in private except as provided in section 3A(a), in private (B) in subsection (h), by striking Any agent Except as provided in section 3A(b), any agent (2) Timing of filing of registration statements Section 2(b) of such Act ( 22 U.S.C. 612(b) six months succeeding such filing six months succeeding such filing (except as provided in section 3A(b)(2)) (c) Effective date The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Summary: Chinese Communist Party Influence Transparency Act This bill requires an agent of a Chinese business entity to register as an agent of a foreign principal in certain instances. The bill's provisions shall apply to an entity that (1) is organized under the laws of China and has its principal place of business there, unless the entity is a Chinese subsidy or affiliate of a non-Chinese entity; or (2) has been designated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as being subject to the Chinese Communist Party's extrajudicial direction. Generally, under current law, an agent of a foreign principal engaging in lobbying in the United States must periodically file disclosures with DOJ, with specified exemptions. Under the bill, an existing exemption for a foreign agent that engages only in private and nonpolitical activities to further trade and commerce shall not apply to an agent operating on behalf of such a Chinese entity. Similarly, another existing exemption for an agent that has already registered as a lobbyist shall not apply to an agent working for such a Chinese entity.