President Joe Biden reportedly met with the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party's top propaganda effort during a tour a previously unreported press release from the US-based Chinese Communist Party Consulate reveals. According to a report in the National Pulse, Biden met Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Vice President Li Yuanchao and Tung Chee-hwa, the Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in 2013.
Chee-hwa is the highest ranking official of the outfit, which is vested with the responsibility of "influencing foreign governments and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing's preferred policies," the outlet reported. The revelations come amid souring relations between the United States and China.
Bombshell Revelations
The National Pulse reported that ahead of the meeting Yuanchaohosted a welcome party for Biden North Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Chee-hwa was also present at the meeting where he was introduced to Biden, following which the meeting took place. According to the US-China Security and Economic Review Commission, Chee-hwa is the "highest-ranking entity overseeing" China's United Work Front, which works with the aim of co-neutralizing "sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party."
It isn't not clear on which issues were Biden and Chee-hwa talked but it will definitely raise quite a few eyebrows given the tense relationship between the two countries. Chee-hwa is also the founding chairman of the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), a United Front-linked group that works with the aim of "effectively disseminating positive messages to the media, key influencers and opinion leaders, and the general public" regarding the CCP.
What's Brewing?
Biden and his administration's reported links with China, particularly the CCP has already raised quite a few questions. The recent revelations come amid reports of William J Burns, Biden's nominee for the position of CIA director, allegedly receiving millions of dollars from a Chinese businessman and a think tank that has close ties with the Chinese Communist Party.
Interestingly, the meeting that took place in 2013 took place during the same trip Biden's son Hunter joined. Hunter's 2013 trip to China along with his father has already come under scrutiny given that he finalized a $1.5 billion private equity deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government soon after. In fact, the brochure of the meeting also has a photograph of Biden shaking hands with Chee-hwa.
It also seems Chee-hwa has high regards for Biden and his election is being seen as a positive by China and the CCP. In January, Chee-hwa had said that there are high chances of a healthy cooperation between Biden and Xi, noting that "it is time to turn the page of the negatives of the past few years and start to work with one another again." Biden too has time and again hinted as worked together with China on a range of global issues including the pandemic and climate change.
