{"id":2612391,"date":"2026-06-09T10:26:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-californias-partnership-with-the-ccp-to-undermine-american-energy-may-be-illegal\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T10:27:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:27:59","slug":"report-californias-partnership-with-the-ccp-to-undermine-american-energy-may-be-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-californias-partnership-with-the-ccp-to-undermine-american-energy-may-be-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"California Partners With The CCP To Undermine American Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-californias-partnership-with-the-ccp-to-undermine-american-energy-may-be-illegal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2612391&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A National Association of Scholars report by ian Oxnevad argues that China is leveraging climate-focused partnerships in California to gain economic and political influence over U.S. energy policy.The report claims China seeks control of supply chains for \u201cgreen\u201d technologies-such as rare earth elements needed for electric vehicles-so that the West will become dependent on Beijing as it shifts away from customary energy sources.<\/p>\n<p>It points to California\u2019s longstanding ties with Tsinghua University, beginning with a 2015 UC-Tsinghua memorandum on energy and climate collaboration, and escalating into the California-china climate Institute (CCCI) in 2019. Oxnevad alleges the partnership is linked to CCP-affiliated funding channels and that related collaborations helped shape restrictive California environmental policies. The piece also cites involvement by organizations such as the Energy Foundation China and the NRDC, and raises questions about whether groups interacting with Chinese entities should be registered under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).<\/p>\n<p>The report further contends that California\u2019s climate standards can spread nationally as other states adopt or align with them, making the CCCI effort a potential \u201cbackdoor\u201d into broader U.S. energy policymaking. Oxnevad calls for Department of Justice scrutiny and argues that aspects of California\u2019s agreements-especially AB 39, wich legally protected the UC-tsinghua relationship-could raise constitutional concerns, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/docs-reveal-facebook-and-twitter-collaborated-with-dhs-and-fbi-to-police-so-called-disinfo\/\" title=\"Docs Reveal Facebook and Twitter Collaborated With DHS and FBI to Police So-Called &quot;Disinfo&quot;\">including issues related<\/a> to treaties with foreign powers and federal oversight.<\/p>\n<p>the report proposes policy measures such as investigating CCP-linked agreements, strengthening FARA, increasing protections against university \u201ccapture\u201d through funding and accountability, and expanding U.S. energy production and non-China rare-earth sourcing, alongside consumer and voting choices to reduce China\u2019s leverage.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The state of California is complicit in a plot by the Chinese Communist Party to undermine American energy in the name of climate activism, alleges a new report from the National Association of Scholars \u2013 and the partnership may merit an investigation by the Department of Justice. <\/p>\n<p>According to Ian Oxnevad, a senior fellow for foreign affairs and security studies at the National Association of Scholars (NAS), China is influencing climate control policy as a form of economic warfare to silently destroy the U.S. He compiled and published his findings in a May <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nas.org\/report\/behind-the-climate-curtain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> titled, \u201cBehind the Climate Curtain: China\u2019s Hidden Role in California\u2019s Energy Mandates and University Partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>China has sought to control supply chains for resources that are favored by climate alarmists, such as the rare earth elements required for electric vehicles [EVs]. This \u201cgrants Beijing global economic leverage in the event of a transition to alternative energy,\u201d Oxnevad writes in his report.<\/p>\n<p>But the plan only works if the West shuts down its own traditional energy supplies and commits to the preferred energy grids of climate alarmists. As Oxnevad writes, \u201cFortunately for Beijing and the CCP, the green energy transition \u2026 can be fostered by policy mandates driven by progressive Western governments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>China aims to make itself energy independent of all surrounding nations, and yet make other nations, especially America, dependent on it for energy. According to Oxnevad, the state of California is helping the CCP achieve that goal.<\/p>\n<h2>The CCP and CA Partner to Advance Pro-Green Research<\/h2>\n<p>California established its first ties with a Chinese university through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2015 between the University of California (UC) system and Tsinghua. The MoU promised that the two schools would work together to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/pi_iec\/098b7ef9800d9039.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explore future collaboration in the fields of energy and climate change<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Tsinghua University is no ordinary college. The Australian Strategic Policy Institution has flagged Tsinghua as \u201cHigh Risk\u201d for its connections to the Chinese military. Tsinghua assists \u201cthe Chinese government in developing nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence capabilities, and nanotechnology,\u201d Oxnevad writes. Tsinghua also has ties to cyberattacks against American companies and the state government of Alaska, as well as \u201chuman rights violations in Xinjiang Province.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The colleges launched a formal partnership called the California-China Climate Institute (CCCI) in 2019, funded by the CCP. The report claims that the CCCI Tsinghua-UC system partnership has received funding from the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy (CIIDS), which is directly tied to the CCP. The founder of CIIDS, Zheng Bijian, was the former chair of the China Reform Forum, which is run by China\u2019s intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security. CIIDS has also \u201cbeen described as a state-backed thinktank that advises the Chinese government,\u201d Oxnevad writes. Neither Berkeley nor the CCCO addressed the Federalist\u2019s question about how much funding they receive from CCP-linked entities. Left-leaning foundations in America, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/william-and-flora-hewlett-foundation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hewlett Foundation<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/rockefeller-brothers-fund\/#profile-content\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rockefeller Brothers Fund<\/a>, also finance the CCCI.<\/p>\n<p>The State of California later legally protected the partnership between the UC system and Tsinghua through Assembly Bill 39 (AB 39) in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a specific agreement with \u2026 our top adversary. That\u2019s what makes this even more egregious,\u201d Oxnevad said to The Federalist. AB 39 was signed by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom. As Newsom\u2019s office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2022\/04\/18\/california-advances-global-climate-leadership-through-expanded-partnership-with-china\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that year, the CCCI partnership would serve as \u201cCalifornia\u2019s primary liaison for information sharing and communication under the MOU.\u201d A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/stanfordreview.org\/investigation-stanford-receives-chinese-state-linked-donations-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expos\u00e9<\/a> at the Stanford Review revealed that the partnership between CA colleges and China is still strong today.<\/p>\n<p>Oxnevad said that he believes the CCP is working through California colleges because \u201cmuch of California\u2019s climate politics stems from homegrown environmentalism,\u201d and:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Universities give you access to policy makers, the mass public, [and] the business world. There\u2019s really no sovereignty guardrails on universities. A university can partner with any other university in the world that wants to. So, when you think about it, it was \u2026 low risk, high reward, and they succeeded in doing it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Climate Activists Push Green Policy Through, and China Gets the Profit<\/h2>\n<p>The CCCI partnership isn\u2019t just limited to academic research \u2014 it ends up shaping U.S. policy. In fact, AB 39 is policy-focused. The bill \u201crequire[s] the institute to foster collaboration to inform and shape climate policy and advance the goals of the Paris Agreement,\u201d which the Trump Administration backed out of both in 2020 and 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The report notes how \u201cSacramento and Beijing worked with China to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >create restrictive environmental policies<\/a> in California\u201d following the establishment of the CCCI. This was accomplished through \u201cpartnerships\u201d involving Energy Foundation China \u2014 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/energy-foundation-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defund-the-police-linked-stacey-abrams-spends-big-on-private-security\/\" title=\"&quot;Defund the Police&quot;-... Stacey Abrams Spends Big on Private Security\">left-wing grant-making organization<\/a><\/a> with an office in Beijing \u2014 the CCCI, UCLA, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>The NRDC is a non-profit founded in the 1970s for climate litigation. Today, its program staff includes multiple former Chinese government officials. For the organization\u2019s involvement with China, the House Committee on Natural Resources \u201cnoted NRDC\u2019s track record in self-censorship of criticism of China, regular meetings with CCP officials, and the organization\u2019s hostility towards American interests\u201d and demanded an explanation why the NRDC is not registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).<\/p>\n<p>As California continues to increase its green policies, the demand for green energy in the form of EVs, batteries, turbines, and solar panels skyrockets. China controls the market for all these items, so California is happily left with little choice but to buy from the CCP.<\/p>\n<p>China and California\u2019s joint effort to greenify the state will most likely affect policy across America \u2014 blue states tend to follow California\u2019s policy guidelines. \u201c[California] is a backdoor into energy policy nationally,\u201d Oxnevad said, \u201cbecause other states have pacts with California where they adopt California standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A Call for Justice<\/h2>\n<p>Oxnevad offers a few solutions to prevent the CCP from continuing its silent economic attack on America, starting with a proper investigation by the Department of Justice. Oxnevad argues that the CCCI partnership between UC colleges and Tsinghua \u2014 among many other California-China MoU agreements \u2014 could be unconstitutional under Article I, Section 10, which prohibits a state from making treaties with foreign nations. <\/p>\n<p>With AB 39, California legally solidified the CCCI partnership, which includes a foreign actor, Tsinghua. When asked how the partnership avoided violating the Supremacy Clause, a spokesman for Newsom\u2019s office merely insisted the MOU was lawful and non-binding. He said California \u201ccan\u2019t tackle this [climate] challenge alone\u201d and will continue to \u201cexchange best practices and information on reducing emissions with partners around the globe.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Federalist also reached out to the vice chancellor at UC Berkeley, and he deferred to the CCCI department for comment. The UC Berkeley School of Law Assistant Dean of Communications responded on their behalf, saying, \u201cThe California-China Climate Institute is an academic and policy research initiative. It \u2026 does not make treaties. Nor does it engage in policy-making in any way.\u201d Though the state law does steer clear from calling itself a treaty, Oxnevad said that \u201cit acts in every way just like it is a treaty, and when you actually dig into it \u2026 it is essentially a treaty by any other name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oxnevad\u2019s other major solutions mentioned in the report are to \u201camend and expand FARA, open federal investigations into [those] who engaged in formalized agreements with China, institute ratio funding \u2026 to help prevent university capture and increase public accountability, and enact federal and state legislation to mandate that all employees of regulatory agencies are US citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oxnevad said that the Trump administration should simultaneously increase production of existing energy sources in the U.S., such as oil, coal, and nuclear, as well as the REE supply abroad by continuing to partner with nations other than China.<\/p>\n<p>The American citizen can also help shut down the CCP through careful voting and purchasing. \u201cThe mindset \u2026 and the wallet of the American citizen is the biggest commodity that everyone wants to control and manipulate,\u201d Oxnevad said, \u201cIt\u2019s not just what the president does [that matters]; it\u2019s a whole lot more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California may be aiding CCP to undermine US energy; DOJ urged to investigate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4304,"featured_media":2612392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pexels-karola-g-4386345-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[37999,4045,51019,36468],"class_list":["post-2612391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-american-energy","tag-california","tag-ccp-2","tag-energy-policy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/pexels-karola-g-4386345-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4304"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2612391"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2612395,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612391\/revisions\/2612395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2612392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2612391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2612391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2612391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}