Biden Admin Gives National Security Grants to Think Tank Backed by CCP Front Group

Bush China Foundation supports Chinese leaders, and has criticised pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong Neil Bush at the Great Hall of the People. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein-Pool/Getty Images)

The State Department grants $100 million annually to public diplomacy programs. “enhance national security.” A portion of that money was transferred to an organization linked to the Chinese Communist Party Front Group under President Biden.

Federal spending records Reviewed by the Washington Free BeaconIn September, $180,076 was donated by the State Department to George H.W. Bush China Foundation has partnered up with the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation. This foundation promotes Beijing’s interests and supports the Chinese Communist Party. The Bush China Foundation was supported by the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation with $5 million. This is a significant amount of its annual revenue in 2019. Axios reported.

The Bush China Foundation’s ties to the China-United States Exchange Foundation make it an odd choice for the government grants, which are meant to advance “U.S. foreign policy goals.” The China-United States Exchange Foundation is a top organization in the Chinese government’s United Front system, which the Chinese Communist Party uses to influence foreigners in favor of Beijing’s policies.

American officials have expressed concerns for many years about the China-United States Exchange Foundation’s involvement in undercover influence operations for Beijing. William Burns, the CIA director has said that he cut ties after he assumed control of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This think tank is a prominent foreign policy think-tank.

Despite the scrutiny surrounding the relationship, The Bush China Foundation has maintained its ties with China-United States Exchange Foundation. Neil Bush, the Bush China Foundation’s founder and chair, praised the Chinese think tank’s founder, Tung Chee-hwa, at an event in January 2021. Tung is vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory group for the Chinese Communist Party.

At a Bush China Foundation event with China’s ambassador in July 2021, Bush lamented an “onslaught of anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. over recent years that has led to growing suspicion of China and her motives.”

Bush has been an outspoken defender of Beijing’s controversial national security policies. He spoke out against pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, upset by a Beijing-backed law that allowed for the arrest of dissenters.