Top Republican lawmakers have called for McKinsey to be banned from securing federal contracts in the US following the revelation that a think-tank led by the consulting firm gave policy recommendations to the Chinese central government.

Marco Rubio, the vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, and Michael McCaul, the chair of the House foreign affairs committee, said McKinsey had undermined US security through the think-tank’s role in the development of Beijing’s 13th five-year plan in 2015.

“It’s shocking that a US company allegedly supported the Chinese Communist party’s efforts to develop policies and plans that violate international trade rules and threaten American national security and economic interests,” McCaul told the Financial Times on Friday.