Rahm Emmanuel – noted as a likely pick for President Biden’s Ambassador to Japan – spoke at a conference sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation – a Chinese Communist Party-linked group that serves to “influence foreign governments” to “take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” The National Pulse can reveal.
The unearthed connection follows reports that President Biden is likely to tap Emmanuel for the role of U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
Emmanuel, also a former Chief of Staff to President Obama, spoke at a China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) event in 2013 to promote the organization’s study, “US-China 2022: Economic Relations in the Next 10 Years.”
The study, which calls for closer economic ties between the two countries, was sponsored and “conceived by” CUSEF Founding Chairman Tung Chee-hwa. Among its authors were former Chinese Communist Party and academics, economists, and professors from state-run universities and think tanks.
With launch events occurring in New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Beijing, and Los Angeles, Emmanuel addressed the Chicago event alongside Obama administration alumni Henry Paulson and William Daley:
Former senior government officials, global business leaders, and distinguished economists were present at the conference to offer their own perspectives on the future of the US-China economic relationship. Notable speakers included the Honorable Rahm Emanuel, the Mayor of the City of Chicago, the Honorable Henry M. Paulson Jr., former Secretary, US Department of the Treasury; Chairman, The Paulson Institute; The Honorable William M. Daley, former Chief of Staff, The White House; former Secretary, US Department of Commerce; Board of Directors, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs; and The Honorable C.H. Tung, Chairman, The China-United States Exchange Foundation; former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The effort, according to the U.S. government report, aims to “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party” and “influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies.”
Tung’s CUSEF, a United Front-linked group, employs a similar strategy.
It has set out to “effectively disseminate positive messages to the media, key influencers and opinion leaders, and the general public” regarding the Chinese Communist Party, according to Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings with the Department of Justice.
The National Pulse has previously revealed CUSEF sponsoring trips to China for mainstream corporate media outlets in exchange for “favorable coverage” and for current and former elected U.S. officials “chosen based on their […] open-minded perspective to China.”
A 2013 promotional brochure for CUSEF prominently displayed Emanuel’s speech, captioning a photo of the address “Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, delivers speech at the Chicago launch.”
