Fuyao chairman dines with Trump delegation as scrutiny mounts – Springfield News-Sun
Elon Musk attends a state banquet during the summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Nearly a year after his pugnacious exit from the White House, Musk joined Trump in Beijing as an ambassador for American business in China, where his automotive company Tesla has been losing ground to local rivals. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
Elon Musk attends a state banquet during the summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Nearly a year after his pugnacious exit from the White House, Musk joined Trump in Beijing as an ambassador for American business in China, where his automotive company Tesla has been losing ground to local rivals. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
President Donald Trump’s visit to China last week came as the Chinese-owned, Moraine-based company Fuyao Glass America faces scrutiny amid an ongoing federal investigation into whether a network of Fuyao vendors engaged in human smuggling and money laundering.
Fuyao Glass Chairman Cao Hui sat on the right-hand side of Elon Musk at the state dinner hosting Trump Thursday evening.
Cao in October took over control of the automotive glass company from his father, Fuyao founder Cao Dewang.
A Dayton Daily News/WHIO-TV investigation published last week revealed Fuyao is one of several Chinese-owned companies with ties to the Dayton area connected to federal investigations of alleged violations of labor and trade laws.
Industry advocates urge the federal government to be more aggressive in enforcing labor and trade laws against Chinese companies.
Following Fuyao
The Chinese glass manufacturer Fuyao received tax breaks while promising new jobs. We ask: Are they keeping their end of the bargain?
Our monthslong joint investigation with WHIO-TV looks into the federal illegal labor raid around Fuyao and uncovers Dayton-area ties to another Chinese company under federal scrutiny.
During Trump’s visit, a California congressman cited Fuyao as a cautionary tale.
“I was in Ohio,” U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna said in an interview on MSNOW Thursday, May 14, hours before President Trump wrapped up his visit to China. “Fuyao — it’s a glass manufacturer, Chinese glass manufacturer, the Biden administration actually was investigating it. They’ve got undocumented labor. They’re abusing their labor, and they’re putting pressure on a steel manufacturer in Pennsylvania. And nothing is happening under Trump.”
Khanna is a top Democrat on a U.S.-China select committee in the House of Representatives.
“Now imagine if he (Trump) has a trillion dollars of Chinese companies here with no labor laws, no union labor, competing against American workers, hurting a lot of workers or steel workers,” Khanna said. “So we need to make sure he doesn’t just sell out to the Chinese.”
“Why didn’t he take farmers on the trip?” the congressman asked. “Or mid-size manufacturers on the trip? And the steelworkers on the trip?”
Trump himself said the trip to China strengthened bilateral relations.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle, and the relationship is a very strong one,” CNN quoted Trump as saying.
However, national reports indicate that Trump left Beijing without offering specifics of new trade agreements.
It’s unclear if Cao made any business deals with Trump’s delegation of U.S. business leaders, or lobbied for any changes to federal policy during Trump’s visit. Fuyao is a major supplier of automotive glass — including to Musk’s Tesla — but has warned a hostile business environment could impact U.S. operations.
In April, Cao Dewong responded to questions about U.S. tariffs saying Fuyao would “simply shut down the (U.S.) factories” if conditions got too bad, according to Chinese media reports.
The company reportedly clarified those remarks to the industry watching outlet Glassbyles, saying “If a business fails to generate a profit, or even incurs losses, over an extended period, its eventual closure is inevitable. This principle applies to any company, regardless of the country or market in which it operates. In this case, his reference to ‘closure’ was not targeting any specific country, market or enterprise.”
Fuyao representatives have declined requests for interviews from the Dayton Daily News. But in response to written questions, they released a statement saying: “We believe Fuyao Glass America is not the target of the ongoing government investigation and has fully cooperated with the government. We are unable to provide additional comments on an ongoing government investigation.”
Fuyao also said it “remains firmly committed to making a strong, long-term contribution to the local economy and community. The company currently employs more than 3,200 employees in Ohio.”
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