Lawmakers and leaders across the political spectrum are sending a message to American businesses: don’t sacrifice democratic values for profit in China.

Vice President Mike Pence called the NBA a “wholly owned subsidiary” of China’s “authoritarian regime,” for its initial response to the Houston Rockets’ general manager’s tweet supporting Hong Kong. He also took a jab at Nike in a speech in Washington on Thursday.

“Nike promotes itself as a so-called social justice champion, but when it comes to Hong Kong it prefers checking its social conscience at the door,” Pence said in a speech.

The issue has united lawmakers including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez are among a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who recently wrote letters to heads of the NBA, Apple and Activision Blizzard, scolding them for bending to the wishes of the Chinese Community Party.

“The Chinese government is growing more aggressive in its attempts to dictate terms to U.S. corporations,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) signed the letters, and told Yahoo Finance he doesn’t think he’s ever seen a matter unite such a diverse group of politicians.

“I think the American people, and by extension the representatives, are waking up to the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, in a sense that what they're trying to do runs counter to basic American values, particularly free expression,” said Gallagher.

Gallagher acknowledged American companies are in a tough position when trying to do business in China and stand up for American values at the same time.

“There's no rubric, there's no set rule that allows you to navigate every situation,” Gallagher said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.

So far, Gallagher said he hasn’t gotten a response to any of the letters.

“I hope to engage them in a dialogue. I understand the economic incentives,” he said. “China's a huge market, and they don't want to jeopardize their bottom line, but I would just urge them to consider bigger problems here.”

Friction from trade war

The situation is made more complicated by a trade war between the United States and China that has dragged on for more than a year-and-a-half.

“I think the trade talks sort of illustrate or heighten the overall economic competition that we're in right now, and certainly the Chinese Communist Party and General Secretary Xi in particular, sort of view all of these things as part of a broader chessboard,” Gallagher said. “My worry is that we're not always acting as strategically as they are right now, and that's why I think it's so critical for members of Congress to speak up about this stuff.”