Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent trip to China, in which he sought to bring China and California closer together to address climate change, shines a light on the state’s partnership with a “malign” Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence operation.
The Chinese People’s Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) recently took credit for inviting California Gov. Gavin Newsom to China, the DCNF reported. However, CPAFFC’s ties to California extend back over a decade and include meetings with multiple Democratic lawmakers as well as a formal 2018 agreement, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of CPAFFC and California government records.
On Sept. 12, 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CPAFFC establishing a joint program that facilitates an annual U.S.-China Subnational Climate Dialogue, according to a copy of the agreement posted on the California Energy Commission’s website.
Two years later, the State Department characterized CPAFFC as part of a “malign” Chinese influence operation. The State Department also labeled CPAFFC as an affiliate of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which carries out Chinese intelligence and influ
“The Chinese People’s Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) is tied to the United Front Work Department, a Chinese intelligence arm,” Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the DCNF. “It was extremely careless for Governor Gavin Newsom to visit China at the invitation of the CPAFFC.”
The 2018 MOU between the state of California and CPAFFC details the creation of a so-called “California-China Program.”
“To enhance the bilateral relationship and foster collaboration, California and China agree to establish the California-China Program, coordinated by the California Governor’s Office and the Chinese Friendship Association, to be affiliated with the U.S.-China Governors Forum, aiming to build regular dialogue between California and Chinese subnational counterparts to discuss the critical issues of mutual interest outlined above,” the 2018 MOU reads. “The California-China Program will facilitate a yearly U.S.-China Subnational Climate Dialogue, jointly established, on September 12 of 2018, at the Global Climate Action Summit.”
In 2011, the National Governors Association and CPAFFC established the U.S.-China Governors Forum with the support of the State Department and the Chinese government. The forum’s goal was “to promote understanding and cooperation between the two sides by creating a platform of peer-to-peer exchanges for subnational leaders to discuss areas of mutual interest,” according to State Department records.
But in October 2020, the State Department discontinued its participation in the MOU, accusing Beijing of exploiting the forum to wage a “malign influence” campaign. The department identified CPAFFC as part of that effort.
“Chinese People’s Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments, has sought to directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda,” the 2020 press statement continued. “CPAFFC’s actions have undermined the Governors Forum’s original well-intentioned purpose.”
‘Local Autonomy’
Newsom’s week-long China visit began on Oct. 23 and included stops in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, according to the governor’s office. While in China, Newsom test drove Chinese electric vehicles, tobogganed down the Great Wall of China and met with General Secretary Xi Jinping, according to multiple reports.
However, Newsom faced criticism for failing to raise human rights abuses with Xi and for attending meetings with CPAFFC’s leaders, such as the Oct. 26 Great Wall Climate Dialogue in Beijing, which CPAFFC co-hosted.
A former senior State Department official, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly, told the DCNF that CPAFFC was “100% United Front.” The former official also said the U.S.-China Governors Forum was “actively penetrated” to exploit the U.S. federal system and turn subnational leaders against the federal government.
“One of the hardest things in dealing with China is that we’re a federal system, the states have a lot of autonomy,” the official told the DCNF. “The United Front is going to use subnational entities, state governments and local governments to isolate, number one, the federal government; number two, to penetrate into the essence of American democracy: that is local autonomy.”
The State Department and FBI declined the DCNF’s request for comment on CPAFFC. A spokesperson for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) called the State Department’s October 2020 announcement a “public warning.”
The DNI spokesperson also referred the DCNF to a 2022 National Counterintelligence and Security Center fact sheet that characterizes CPFFC as “closely tied to the CCP’s political influence bureaucracy.”
![[Image created by the DCNF using pics from the archived website of the Chinese People's Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries]](https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/imageedit_26_5636161944-e1698874782567.jpg)
[Image created by the DCNF using pics from the archived website of the Chinese People’s Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries]
Over the last decade, CPAFFC’s leaders have met with a range of Democratic California politicians, including former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former California State Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg and former Governor Jerry Brown, the group’s records show.
For example, Garcetti met with CPAFFC’s leaders in Beijing to discuss the climate and other issues in November 2014, according to the group’s website. Likewise, Hertzberg met with CPAFFC’s leaders in Beijing to discuss subnational cooperation in November 2015, CPAFFC’s website reports.
As for Brown, he began meeting with CPAFFC as early as February 2012 when he hosted the CPAFFC-backed U.S.-China Governors Forum round table with then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Los Angeles, according to the governor’s office.
Brown continued meeting with CPAFFC’s leadership in the run-up to signing the 2018 MOU between the state of California and CPAFCC. This included back-to-back June 2017 meetings in China and the U.S., during which Brown and Chinese officials discussed the environment and other topics, according to CPAFFC’s website.
“It is essential that the U.S. further investigate the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to undermine our country’s national security and ensure it is not conducting espionage against America,” Sen. Blackburn told the DCNF.
Newsom’s office, Garcetti, Brown and the California Energy Commission did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Hertzberg declined the DCNF’s request for comment.
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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
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