Staff Reports
Our state has a relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which got more attention after Governor Gavin Newsom's recent trip to China. The Chinese People's Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) said they invited Newsom to China, which shows they have strong links with the government that go back more than ten years. In fact, the National Governors Association and CPAFFC set up the U.S.-China Governors Forum as early as 2011. Its goal was to encourage the two countries to work together on a range of problems.
But the State Department says that CPAFFC is part of a "malign" Chinese influence operation and is connected to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which is known for spying on people and trying to change their minds. California even signed an agreement (MOU) with CPAFFC in 2018 to start a shared program, even though the State Department was worried about these things.
Gavin Newsom's China Trip Shines Light On California's Partnership With 'Malign' CCP Influence Operationhttps://t.co/l1wrHWrfMA
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 3, 2023
Newsom did many things in China during his trip, including test-driving Chinese electric cars and tobogganing down the Great Wall. But he was criticized for not talking to General Secretary Xi Jinping about violations of human rights and for meeting with CPAFFC leaders, such as at the Great Wall Climate Dialogue.
The State Department has stopped taking part in the MOU because it thinks Beijing is using it for its own "malign influence" strategy. It has worried about CPAFFC's ties to the CCP's political influence bureaucracy and asked for more research into China's attempts to weaken national security.
It is clear that California's relationship with CPAFFC causes a lot of worry about Chinese influence and how subnational governments could be used to keep the federal government from working with other countries and get into American democracy. We don't yet know how these new facts will affect California's future dealings with China and the fight against climate change.
