Bennet, Ricketts Introduce Legislation to Counter Chinese Arms Sales to U.S. Allies and Partners

Jul 25, 2025|Press Releases
Denver— U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Tracking Hostile Industry Networks and Kit while Thwarting Weapons Imports from Chinese Entities (THINK TWICE) Act.
This legislation will require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to conduct an assessment of arms sales by China and develop a strategy to dissuade countries from buying Chinese weapons systems and defense equipment. This legislation will also task the National Intelligence Council with assessing China’s arms sales, and will task the Director of National Intelligence with assessing the risks of onward proliferation of sensitive U.S. technology and defense systems posed by U.S. allies and partners buying arms from China.
“As China wields arms sales to reshape the international system in Beijing’s image, the United States must reassert its role as a security partner of choice,”said Bennet.“This legislation is an essential step toward countering China’s expanding military footprint and geopolitical influence.”
“Communist China has emerged as a major weapons supplier. This is particularly true in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia,”said Ricketts.“This development has major implications for American defense companies, our military operations, and our global security partnerships. The recent Pakistan-India clash saw significant use of Chinese-made weapons. This should be a major wake-up call that we must do more to combat these arms sales. That’s why I’ve introduced the THINK TWICE Act. This act requires a coordinated strategy to dissuade new purchases of Chinese-made weapons. It will also ensure our defense industrial base is better equipped to provide alternatives to prospective buyers.”
China is now the fourth-largest global arms exporter behind the U.S., Russia, and France. In recent years, China has exported drones, missiles, and fighter jets to dozens of countries – including U.S. allies and partners. China wields these arms sales to promote its strategic interests, improve the Chinese military’s reputation, acquire performance data on Chinese-produced weapons in contested environments, sow tensions between the U.S. and traditional security partners, and gain a foothold for further defense and security cooperation. With Russia struggling to facilitate arms sales amid sanctions stemming from Moscow’s unjustified and unprovoked war in Ukraine, China aims to fill that void.
Specifically, the THINK TWICE Act will:
Bennet and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.)leadthe Americas Act, the only major strategic economic plan to counter China’s geopolitical and economic influence in the Western Hemisphere. Earlier this month, Bennet and Rickettsintroducedthe Quad Economic Security Act to strengthen cooperation among the four members of the Quad – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – amid China’s coercion and aggression. In June 2025, Bennet and Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)introducedthe Quad Space Act to strengthen Quad space cooperation to address shared challenges like China’s reckless behavior in space. Additionally, in March 2025, Bennetintroducedthe FIGHT China Act to protect U.S. national security by limiting American investments in certain technologies in China.
The text of the bill is availableHERE.
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