Key Biden Allies Serve in National Committee on US-China Relations, Group Works Closely With CCP Front Groups

President Joe Biden speaks to members of the press prior to a Marine One departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on July 7, 2021. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Commentary

“Top Biden Allies Worked for Group With Close Ties to Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” headlines a July 5 report in the Washington Free Beacon. The Biden allies include Jacob Lew, a former Secretary of the Treasury, and Kurt Campbell, an official of the National Security Council (NSC), an arm of the White House.

Campbell was Biden’s pick to run Asia policy at the NSC, and according to the report, Campbell previously served as chairman of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a group funded by companies “known for working closely with Chinese officials and Communist Party front groups.”

In a January report headlined, “Biden’s Asia Policy Czar Helped Found Group ‘Heavily Influenced by the CCP,’” the Free Beacon named Campbell as former vice chairman of the U.S.-China Strong Foundation, a group “whose leaders included prominent members of the Chinese regime’s overseas propaganda fronts.” According to the report, the Foundation has promoted the Chinese army, the Belt and Road Initiative, and also partnered with the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, cited by the State Department as a promoter of Beijing’s propaganda efforts to academics around the world.

The U.S.-China Strong Foundation was funded by Florence Fang, president of the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification. According to the Beacon, the Association is controlled by the United Front Work Department, a propaganda agency of the CCP. Last year, the U.S.-China Strong Foundation vanished from the internet but the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations remains active.

In January, according to the Beacon’s July report, Campbell gave way to Jacob Lew, former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, as chairman of the National Committee. It strives to open Chinese markets to the National Committee’s corporate donors, including the firm BlackRock, a concern of Tom Donilon, who advised Biden in his 1988 run for the presidency.

As Obama’s national security adviser, Donilon orchestrated the move to put Vice President Joe Biden at the helm of China policy. Donilon disagreed that “a rising power and an established power are somehow destined for conflict” and advocated “a deeper U.S.-China military-to-military dialogue.”

Vice President Joe Biden (Center L) arrives for a meeting with President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon in the Oval Office in Washington on July 18, 2012. Pete Souza/White House Photo via Getty Images

According to Politico, Donilon was a key architect of the “pivot to Asia,” and in the running for CIA director. Other advisers were uncomfortable with Donilon in the CIA position, “due to his current role as chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute.” That institute collaborates with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, which works closely with CCP front groups.

In February, according to the Washington Free Beacon, National Committee chairman Jacob Lew hosted an event for Chinese official Yang Jiechi, who called for an end to U.S. criticism of China’s actions in Tibet, a region occupied by China since the 1950s. The previous month, National Committee official Carla Hills, a former U.S. trade representative, criticized the Trump administration’s trade policy with China. “Neither Lew nor Hills pushed back against the rhetoric from their Chinese counterparts,” according to the Beacon report.

As a former Treasury Secretary, Lew wields considerable influence, but he does have another side. Lee Smith, author of “The Plot Against the President,” notes that Lew was one of more than a dozen officials in the Obama administration who made requests to unmask Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn. The others included CIA director John Brennan, FBI director James Comey, U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, and Vice President Joe Biden.

During the 2020 campaign, the former vice president said the Chinese were “not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They’re not competition for us.” That was the view of Tom Donilon, who orchestrated the move to put Biden in charge of China policy, and whose BlackRock Investment Institute collaborates with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Intelligence analyst Anders Corr told the Washington Free Beacon that this kind of group tends to promote “engagement” and “understanding.” On the other hand, Corr explained, “the CCP is using these words as cover for infiltration operations.”

Meanwhile, Biden loyalist Tom Donilon did not get the CIA job but the family influence remains strong. Donilon’s wife Cathy Russell served on Biden’s transition advisory board and was appointed director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Tom’s brother Mike Donilon, Biden’s chief strategist during the 2020 campaign, is now a senior White House adviser. As The New York Times reported, Mike Donilon is now “the defender of the Biden brand.”

In that brand, the Communist Chinese are “not bad folks,” and “not competition for us.” With Biden allies collaborating with CCP front groups, the “deeper U.S.-China military-to-military dialogue” Tom Donilon wanted may not be long delayed.

Lloyd Billingsley is the author of “Yes I Con: United Fakes of America,” “Barack ‘em Up: A Literary Investigation,” “Hollywood Party,” and other books. His articles have appeared in many publications, including Frontpage Magazine, City Journal, The Wall Street Journal, and American Greatness. Billingsley serves as a policy fellow with the Independent Institute.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.