Every year, the State Department gives $100 million in grants to fund public diplomacy programs that "enhance national security." Under President Biden, some of that money has gone to an organization with extensive ties to a Chinese Communist Party front group.
According to federal spending records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, the State Department in September gave $180,076 to the George H.W. Bush China Foundation, which has partnered with the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation, an organization that promotes the interests of Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party. The China-U.S. Exchange Foundation donated $5 million to the Bush China Foundation, a significant portion 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 long expressed concern that the China-United States Exchange Foundation is engaged in covert influence operations for Beijing. CIA director William Burns has said he cut ties with the organization because of its connections to Beijing after he took over at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a prominent foreign policy think tank.
