Granholm, U.S. Energy Secretary, consulted Chinese energy official prior to depleting strategic oil reserve.

The Biden administration’s top energy official ⁣engaged in multiple talks with China National Energy Administration chairman Zhang Jianhua​ days before the United States moved to release oil from⁣ its strategic ‍reserves in 2021.

According to internal Energy Department calendars obtained by Fox News, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm spoke with ‌Zhang⁣ one-on-one multiple ⁣times in ⁢meetings that had not previously been made known to the public. Granholm and Zhang met⁤ on‌ November 19 and November 21, 2021, just days prior to the administration’s announcement that they’d be ⁢releasing oil from ‌the strategic reserves on November 23. The timing of Granholm’s meetings have critics questioning China’s level of​ influence over the⁣ Biden ‍administration’s energy policy.

“Secretary Granholm’s multiple closed-door meetings with a CCP-connected energy official ‍raise serious questions about the level of Chinese influence on the ⁤Biden administration’s energy agenda,” Americans for Public Trust executive⁣ director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News.

Critics of the ⁢Biden administration have‍ argued ‍that the decision to drain U.S. strategic ⁣reserves has left​ the country ​in a worse ​geopolitical position. House Republicans have warned​ that⁢ China may now have the largest oil reserves in the world. In ⁤2022, the ⁣Biden ⁤administration sold nearly one million⁣ barrels of oil from ‍the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Unipec, the trading arm of the Chinese state-controlled ⁤gas giant Sinopec, the‌ Washington​ Free Beacon reported.

First Son Hunter Biden⁢ has‍ ties to Sinopec, with a‌ private equity firm he co-founded holding a $1.7 billion stake in Unipec’s parent company.

Since‍ draining American oil ​reserves, the Biden administration has since boasted about efforts to replenish what was⁣ sold, claiming that taxpayers were getting ‌a “good deal.” Recent moves to buy ⁢oil, ⁤however, have⁢ been met with delays due⁢ to ⁣persistently⁤ high global energy prices, leaving the United States with depleted reserves.

“Instead of ⁤focusing on creating real energy independence for America, Granholm has been too busy parroting Chinese energy propaganda ⁢and insisting ‘we can all learn from what China ​is doing,’” Sutherland⁣ said. “The public deserves to know the extent to which Chinese⁤ officials are attempting to infiltrate U.S. energy policy‌ and ‍security.”

Biden administration ⁣officials did not share⁣ with Fox News the ⁤specifics of what⁣ took place during‌ Granholm’s meetings with Zhang, saying instead that ‍it had to do broadly with climate change.