Lobbying firm Checkmate helped China’s Grand Pharmaceutical Group beat a US national security challenge, public filings show
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 7:16am, 10 Apr 2026A lobbying firm led by one of Donald Trump Jnr’s hunting buddies helped a Chinese company make its case to a US national security watchdog, public filings show.
The case involved a US start-up that was seeking to have the Chinese firm removed as one of its investors. The watchdog rejected the US firm’s request for a national security review of the Chinese firm’s investment, according to a document seen by Reuters, handing a rare win to a Chinese company in Washington. The decision has not previously been reported.
The lobbying firm, Checkmate, helped a lawyer for China’s Grand Pharmaceutical Group clinch a meeting with the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) in early January, according to two people familiar with the matter. During the meeting, the lawyer argued that the case was a commercial disagreement with no national security implications, one of the people said.
At the end of January, the watchdog rejected the filing by Minnesota-based start-up FastWave for reasons unrelated to national security, effectively siding with the Chinese firm, according to a document seen by Reuters.
FastWave, which had been granted calls with CFIUS staff rather than senior officials that month, has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy, the company told CFIUS.
Reuters could not determine if the meeting Checkmate set up played a role in the CFIUS decision. There was no indication that Donald Trump Jnr, US President Donald Trump’s eldest son, was involved. A representative for Donald Trump Jnr did not respond to requests for comment.
