Millions of Americans depend on medical devices – pacemakers, IV pumps and patient monitors – to stay alive. But some of that equipment is made in China and could be spying on us – or worse.
In January 2025, the Food and Drug Administration and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a stark joint warning: patient monitors made by Contec Medical Systems, a Chinese company based in Qinhuangdao, contained a hidden backdoor. These devices, used in hospitals in the United States, can send sensitive patient data to a hardcoded IP address in China. Even more troubling, the backdoor can execute code remotely, potentially allowing an adversary to manipulate displayed vital signs and trigger dangerous clinical decisions.
There is no patch to fix it. For China, it’s a feature, not a bug.
China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law requires any Chinese company to assist state intelligence operations upon request. When Beijing says open the door, the company complies. The implications for any device linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the US healthcare system are clear and unacceptable.
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Texas is taking action against the potential danger of hidden backdoors in Chinese medical technology. (iStock)
President Donald Trump recognized the danger early on. In September 2025, his administration launched a national security investigation under Section 232 into medical device imports, citing the risk that foreign powers could weaponize supply chains. Researchers discovered CCP-linked devices even in US government-funded research labs.
Dependence on a hostile foreign supplier that uses government subsidies to dominate American competitors is bad enough. But add to that the threat of sudden export freezes during a crisis, as we have seen during COVID-19, and the danger increases. If hospitals rely on compromised supply chains, patients could be left without life-saving technology when it matters most.
Fortunately, Texas is not waiting for Washington for further necessary action. As gridlock in Congress has stalled federal progress, the Lone Star State has sprung into action.
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Republican Gov. Greg Abbott banned CCP-affiliated technologies from state government systems and signed legislation in June 2025 establishing the Texas Cyber Command to track and eliminate threats from hostile foreign nations. Late last year, the governor expanded the state’s list of banned technology to include another 26 China-linked companies: hardware manufacturers and AI platforms with direct ties to the CCP. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed multiple lawsuits against these companies operating within our borders.
The public supports this position. Texans understand that national security doesn’t stop at the border or the battlefield – it extends to the devices that monitor our loved ones in the hospital.
Legal instruments already exist. What is needed now is to extend these protections directly to public health procurement. That’s exactly where Texas Republicans are stepping up.
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In recent days, the Texas Public Policy Foundation – where we work – sent a letter to state leaders urging further action. The letter, co-signed by 53 members of the Legislature, calls for common-sense measures: direct state health agencies to adopt procurement standards that ban medical devices from CCP-linked companies; establish a review process for existing contracts and equipment to root out vulnerabilities; and working with lawmakers to offer grants and preferences that incentivize U.S. medical devices.
Texans understand that national security doesn’t stop at the border or the battlefield – it extends to the devices that monitor our loved ones in the hospital.
During our military careers, one of us was an intelligence officer and the other a doctor. We have spent years studying threats to national security, and this fight is personal. Critical infrastructure – including healthcare – should never become the soft underbelly of America’s defense. No Texas patient should have their medical information sent to a server in China or have their medical care disrupted or held hostage by the CCP. No hospital in Texas should be one firmware update away from undetected interference. And no state that has already faced CCP aggression should leave its medical infrastructure as the last open door.
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Texas is once again showing the country how to lead. We have the framework. We have the public mandate. We have the determination. Now we have to get the job done – before a crisis overwhelms us.
The rest of America is watching. Let’s show them what real action looks like.
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Dr. Clifford Porter, MD, PhD is a senior fellow in health care policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a retired U.S. Army colonel.
