American-based affiliates of Chinese companies, including at least one firm with ties to the Chinese military, received millions of dollars in loans from a federal program aimed at keeping small businesses afloat during the global pandemic, according to data released this week. Records reviewed by The Wire show that between $5 million and $10 million in federally backed funds were tapped by Continental Aerospace Technologies, a Mobile, Ala., firm that is a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, one of the country’s largest defense contractors. Two weeks ago, AVIC was named on a list the Pentagon compiled of companies affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army, or the PLA.  In April, a loan of as much as $2 million went to an affiliate of CloudMinds Technology, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based artificial intelligence and robotics firm that is backed by Japan’s Softbank, the venture capital firm, as well as two Chinese government funds managed by T