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Oren Cass, a vocal advocate for economic nationalism and decoupling from China, faces scrutiny regarding the consistency between his rhetoric and his think tank American Compass’s operations. Cass has publicly called for a tougher stance against China and prioritizing domestic manufacturing. However, American Compass’s major sponsors, including Qualcomm, BlackRock, and Google, maintain significant economic ties to China. Additionally, a member of the advisory board is a professor at Peking University, affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. While these associations are common in Washington, they raise questions about the feasibility of Cass’s economic separation agenda while relying on globalized corporate support.
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Oren Cass, founder of the Washington-based think tank American Compass, has built a reputation as one of the right’s most outspoken advocates for economic nationalism and “strategic decoupling” from Beijing.Â
Yet recent details about the group’s corporate partnerships and staff affiliations raise questions about consistency between its rhetoric and its operations.
In essays and media appearances, Cass has argued that the United States must take a tougher stance toward China and prioritize domestic manufacturing and independence from Chinese supply chains.Â
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Oren Cass has become (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images)
They went further, calling for legal restrictions. “U.S. law should be changed to prohibit these institutions from entering into any partnerships with China-based and affiliated entities. Any funding flowing from one nation’s institutions to the other’s must be stopped.”
The national flags of the United States and China flutter at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on April 25, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)
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And yet, Cass’s uncompromising rhetoric on China appears at odds with the realities of operating a Washington think tank in a globalized economy.
In June 2025, American Compass hosted a lavish fifth-anniversary gala at Washington’s National Building Museum, an event underwritten in part by Qualcomm, BlackRock, and Google — companies whose global operations remain deeply intertwined with China’s economy.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives to speak during the American Compass Fifth Anniversary Gala alongside American Compass founder and Chief Economist Oren Cass (L) at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
China is the world’s second-largest economy and a key trading partner for U.S. companies, making such financial entanglements common across Washington’s policy landscape.
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Additionally, an economist on the group’s advisory board is also a professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, a leading business institution with close ties to China’s Communist Party.
While none of these associations are illegal or unusual in Washington, they complicate Cass’ image as a champion of economic separation from China and highlight the difficulty of pursuing that ideal while relying on corporate sponsors.
