BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UNITE HERE, the hotel workers’ union, has sent a letter to members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs calling for an investigation into the North American expansion plans of military-civilian conglomerate China Poly Group.
The letter, sent to the members of subcommittees with jurisdiction over China, describes how Poly Group maintains diverse business interests under one umbrella, including defense and infrastructure. Subsidiary Poly Technologies is a weapons manufacturer and dealer which has been repeatedly sanctioned by the United States. Poly companies have also participated in building out infrastructure related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Other Poly subsidiaries, however, operate fine art auctions, galleries, and performing arts exhibitions. Chairman Xu Niansha has explicitly connected Poly’s cultural operations with Chinese national priorities, stating that the export of cultural goods helps enhance China’s soft power. Poly has indicated its interest in expanding operations across North America.
“Should the United States be welcoming Chinese corporations that are part of the same corporate family as a sanctioned arms dealer?” asked Jeff Nelson, Deputy Director of Research for UNITE HERE. “There are serious national security concerns that members of Congress ought to address.”
Examples of Poly’s cultural businesses include Poly Culture North America, which operates a fine art gallery in Vancouver. Poly Theater co-produced an opera with the San Francisco Opera Company, and the company is in talks to purchase the piano manufacturer Steinway.
“Poly Group’s combination of Chinese ‘hard power’ and ‘soft power’ under a single corporate umbrella has clear national security implications for the United States,” said Nelson. “A hearing that examines Poly’s expansion plans for the US and Canada is an urgently-needed measure.”
The text of the letter is available on a union website, www.MarriottChinaObserver.org.
About UNITE HERE
UNITE HERE represents 270,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in the U.S. and Canada including 17,000 employed by Marriott International. MarriottChinaObserver.org is maintained by the UNITE HERE Research Department.