White House downplays Chinese influence, Beijing renews college infiltration efforts.

A Think Tank’s Influence on American College Campuses

A⁤ think tank believed to conduct influence operations⁣ on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party has renewed its​ campaign ​to ⁤push pro-Beijing views on American college​ campuses as the Biden ⁢administration downplays China’s‌ intelligence operations aimed at the ‍United States.

The China-U.S. Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), a centerpiece of the CCP’s “united ⁤front” influence apparatus, has in recent months ⁢organized events at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis to promote ​closer ties between the United ​States and China, according to the group’s website.

The foundation, which is registered with‌ the ‍Justice Department as a foreign agent of China, has also ​organized‌ trips ​for university students to China ​where they‌ met with diplomats from China’s ministry ‍of⁤ foreign affairs and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign⁣ Countries, another Chinese Communist ⁤Party front group‌ that American intelligence officials say has “sought to directly and malignly influence” state and local leaders⁣ in the United States to ⁣promote China’s ⁤”global agenda.”

CUSEF⁣ has maintained a low profile​ in‌ recent⁤ years amid ⁤scrutiny over its ties⁤ to the CCP‍ but has renewed its university outreach‌ programs⁣ as ‌the Biden administration has downplayed concerns about China’s intelligence operations in hopes of preserving diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Joe​ Biden has dismissed concerns about a Chinese surveillance balloon that flew across the United States earlier this year, and the administration has largely ignored Beijing’s⁣ hacking of‌ emails of ⁤Ambassador Nicholas ‌Burns and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. American officials ‌have shied⁤ away from confronting Beijing for fear of ⁣hindering ‌collaboration ⁢on⁤ climate change⁤ and global supply chain issues.

“It’s not a coincidence ‌that CUSEF, a known united front organization, is getting back⁤ into the game‌ right now. Ties between Washington and Beijing are gradually warming as the Biden ​administration attempts to reset ‌with the CCP,” said Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow ‌of Indo-Pacific studies at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Sobolik said college administrators “have no valid ⁢excuse” to‍ work with CUSEF given all the ⁢publicity about its links to the Chinese ⁣Communist Party.

“CCP partnerships may be lucrative today, but they imperil academic freedom⁢ in ⁤the ⁣long run,” ⁣Sobolik told the Washington Free Beacon.

American officials have sounded the alarm for years over CUSEF’s relationships with universities and think tanks. In 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz ⁤(R., Texas) pressured the University of Texas to block funding from the foundation, which⁣ was formed by Tung Chee-hwa, the vice chairman of ⁢the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the Chinese Communist Party.​ Since then, other universities have cut⁣ ties ​with ⁢CUSEF. So have think tanks like the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the liberal Center for American ‌Progress.

CIA director William Burns,⁣ the former president of the Carnegie​ Endowment, said in 2021 that he cut ties with CUSEF when he led the think tank “because we ⁤were increasingly worried about the expansion ​of Chinese influence operations.”

CUSEF has conducted some programs with American colleges, including a research project with ‌students from Morgan State ​University⁤ to study the responses in the United States and China to ‌the coronavirus pandemic.⁤ The report included subtle jabs at former ‌president Donald Trump and American leaders’ handling of the pandemic.

In its⁢ latest initiatives, CUSEF is ‌working with several American nonprofits known⁤ for their sympathetic views of Beijing.

One of those is the University of Montana’s Baucus Institute,‍ led ⁣by Max‍ Baucus, who​ served as ‍U.S. ambassador to China under President Barack Obama.

Baucus, a vocal defender of Chinese ​foreign policy, last⁤ month organized a visit to China where he introduced students to officials from the Chinese Ministry of ‌Foreign Affairs and from the Chinese⁤ People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which the U.S. intelligence community says ‍”has sought to directly and ‍malignly influence state ‌and local​ leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda.”

The ‌aim of‍ the trip was to promote “the understanding and cooperation” and emphasize​ “the importance of Sino-US relations.”

CUSEF‍ organized a trip ⁣ in May ⁣with the U.S.-Asia​ Institute to Beijing for American law students​ in order to ⁣foster ⁤”a better understanding ⁣of the country and engaging ‍with the Chinese legal and governmental systems.”

The think⁤ tank hosted an event on April 18 ⁤at the University​ of Missouri-St. Louis ‍with the United States Heartland China Association, another group ‍sympathetic to Beijing, to promote a “deeper understanding of U.S.-China relations.”

It hosted events on April 7 and April 12‌ at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins⁣ University, respectively. The ⁣Exchange Foundation⁣ invited as ​a speaker Shao Yuqun, the director ⁢of the Institute for ​Taiwan, Hong ⁤Kong & Macao Studies. According to China scholars, the institute operates under the direction of the Taiwan⁢ Affairs Leading​ Small Group, which is affiliated with China’s top intelligence ⁢agency,​ the Ministry of‌ State Security.

Shao recently criticized former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) for visiting Taiwan, whose independence is a point ⁣of contention between Washington ⁢and ‌Beijing. Shao asserted the United ⁤States is in the grips of “institutional decay” and that⁢ policy toward ‌Taiwan “is being taken hostage by certain interest⁣ groups.”

The China-U.S. Exchange Foundation and the universities it has worked with ​did not respond to requests ⁣for comment.