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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Biden's new climate envoy had a close relationship with CCP/Chinese United Front influence group

2024-02-03

Surely not when he worked for Hillary!

[JustTheNews] The Biden Administration continues to emphasize climate cooperation with China, even as the relationship grows more confrontational. The new climate envoy has a history of favorable negotiations with China and close relationships with a Chinese influence group with longstanding connections to the Chinese Communist Party.

The White House recently appointed John Podesta as Climate Envoy following the exit of John Kerry from the administration. Yet, Podesta’s previous work with a Chinese United Front-linked organization on climate change raises concerns about his ability to negotiate with China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Podesta has long been a household name in Democratic politics. He is known for his close association with the Clinton family and for being active in climate policy. Podesta first served as President Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff and then later as the campaign chairman for Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful bid for president in 2016.

In between his work for the Clintons, he served in the Obama Administration as a counselor to the president responsible for climate policy and before that as a co-chair of President Obama’s 2008 transition team.

Before entering the Obama Administration, Podesta founded and led the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress (CAP), which seeks to advance progressive policies on issues spanning from climate change to the economy.

It was during this period that Podesta worked closely with an entity connected to the Chinese influence apparatus on climate change and other issues.

In late 2009, Podesta led the first delegation from CAP to Beijing. During the trip, the CAP delegation—which included a U.S. Senator and an Ambassador—met with several Chinese officials. Discussions between the two delegations centered on “issues at the forefront U.S.-China relations,” which included climate change.

The Chinese delegation was led by the founder of the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), an entity which played an integral part in organizing the dialogue, according to CAP’s report of the trip. CUSEF and CAP held several meetings from 2009 to 2016, both before and after Podesta began serving at the White House.

The China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) is a Hong Kong-based entity founded by business magnate Tung Chee-hwa, a billionaire who is linked to the Chinese Communist Party. After Hong Kong reverted to British control, Tung was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region under the communist Chinese government.

Tung also served as the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference—“a patriotic united front organization of the Chinese people” that is integrated with the Chinese Communist Party government—from 2005 to 2023.

CUSEF is a registered foreign agent in the United States and would later hire none other than John Podesta’s brother, Tony Podesta, to lobby on behalf of the organization in Washington. In 2015, Podesta filed a lobbying disclosure form with the U.S. House of Representatives to advocate on behalf of CUSEF on “U.S.-China Relations.” According to Open Secrets, CUSEF paid Podesta’s firm nearly $900,000 for three years of lobbying work, from 2015 to 2017.

According to Influence Watch, since 2010, CUSEF has organized an annual dialogue between members of the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and leaders of the CCP. In a 2022 Congressional hearing, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns expressed concern about CUSEF’s covert influence activities in the U.S.

In 2013, John Podesta joined the White House as counselor to the president on climate policy. He, along with a CAP Senior Fellow Tod Stern, was one of the chief officials responsible for the negotiation of the Paris Accords—the climate pact which required signatories to reduce emissions in line with global warming prevention goals.

China’s lead climate negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, has participated in CAP-CUSEF summits in the past, attending in 2016, according to CUSEF’s website. Coincidentally, Xie Zhenhua, who stepped down as the Chinese climate envoy in December, is noted as having a close relationship with John Podesta’s predecessor, John Kerry. The personal diplomacy between the two men was instrumental in achieving the Paris Accords.

Posted by:Skidmark

#1 It’s hard to imagine a Czar being a step down from Kerry. Carrot Top would have been a step up. Pedesta is not an improvement.

Posted by: Super Hose 2024-02-03 15:22

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