Michigan Advance
May 7, 2026
Ben Solis
Adversarial Chinese data collectors on wheels — that’s how Democratic U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin described the potential data security threats of Chinese-made vehicles during a discussion on Thursday with the Detroit Regional Chamber regarding U.S.-China relations and their effect on Michigan’s economy.
Slotkin’s remarks on Thursday also followed her introduction of new legislation to ban Chinese vehicle production and use within the United States, especially if they are internet-connected and feeding information to foreign adversaries, namely, China. Slotkin said the concern is palpable because the equipment being used to track those vehicles and driver data pose grave national security and data safety questions.
The bill is being co-sponsored by Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio. As a bipartisan effort, the new bill flies in the face of President Donald Trump’s recent commentary on potentially letting China build and sell vehicles in America. It has some Republican support but could face headwinds with some of Trump’s most loyal supporters in Congress.
The conversation with Slotkin also set the table, so to speak, for Trump as plans to meet soon with Chinese officials at a summit that could have further economic implications for the U.S.-China relationship and Michigan. Slotkin said Thursday that she hopes Chinese vehicle production and intellectual property theft are part of those discussions. She also urged Trump to have a full-throated conversation with China over those intellectual property abuses and the very data concerns that Slotkin worries about on the vehicle font.