The world’s largest technology companies are pouring money into the biggest foreign policy think-tanks in the US, as they seek to advance the argument that stricter competition rules will benefit China.

Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are behind an increase in funding to four of Washington’s most prestigious research groups: the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Center for a New American Security, Brookings and the Hudson Institute.

Total donations from Big Tech companies to the four think-tanks have risen from at least $625,000 in 2017-18 to at least $1.2mn in 2019-20, according to a Financial Times analysis of financial disclosures. These figures could be as high as $1.2mn in 2017-18 to $2.7mn in 2019-20.

See Also:

Whoopi Goldberg sparks outrage after saying “the Holocaust isn’t about race”

Not all of the groups have published figures for 2020-21, but those that have also show tech donations increasing once more.

While the money spent is relatively small for the companies involved — Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple each have market capitalisations of more than $1tn — the funding has ramped up as tech groups join the oil and gas industry among the top donors to the think-tanks.

Read more: Financial Times