China-founded TP-Link Systems Inc. is attempting to convince U.S. national security officials that it operates independently from Beijing, but its Vietnam factory highlights the challenges of that claim. The facility, which produces products for the U.S. market, has become central to TP-Link’s argument that it presents no unique China-related risks. However, public records and company announcements suggest continued links to China’s state-driven technology ecosystem, raising questions about the company’s true independence, Bloomberg reports.
TP-Link’s Vietnam plant in Hai Phong has been expanding with the help of a unit of China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. (CSCEC), a Chinese state-owned firm designated by the Pentagon as a military company. Hunan provincial officials listed the factory as one of their “Key Projects for Foreign Investment and Cooperation” in 2025. Critics say the involvement of a Chinese state-owned firm undermines TP-Link’s assertions that it is free from government influence. Former U.S. national security official Liza Tobin told Bloomberg that the partnership “shows China still sees TP-Link as a Chinese company.”
TP-Link disputes this, saying the construction project has no connection to the security of its products, research and development, or user data, all of which are managed under supervision of its U.S. headquarters. The company also denied receiving Chinese government investments or support for the expansion. Bloomberg previously reported that the Vietnam facility largely functions as a final assembly point, with almost all components imported from China aside from a small fraction sourced locally.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering whether to recommend restrictions or a ban on TP-Link products in the U.S., following a Commerce Department assessment that links to China pose a potential national security threat, Bloomberg notes. U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns that Chinese law could compel TP-Link to assist military or intelligence operations, although there is no evidence the company participated in cyberattacks exploiting its routers, including the Volt and Salt Typhoon campaigns.
Since restructuring its operations in October 2024 to create separate U.S. and China entities, TP-Link has sought to distance itself from Beijing. Co-founder Jeffrey Chao told Bloomberg that the company has “chosen the U.S.” and is leaving China behind. Nevertheless, reports indicate that both U.S. and China-based TP-Link employees attended a Chinese Communist Party labor event shortly after the corporate split, though the company says it has reinforced its policy against CCP connections.
The unfolding scrutiny of TP-Link underscores the difficulty for China-origin tech firms in proving independence to U.S. authorities amid growing national security concerns, and highlights the challenge of disentangling global supply chains from state influence.
