Jonathan Mantz – Hillary Clinton’s former Finance Director who’s “raised nearly half a billion dollars over his career for Democratic campaigns” – is now a lobbyist for the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, which seeks to craft policies favorable to American companies doing business in China and routinely partners with the Chinese Communist Party to do so.
Jonathan Mantz, a Principal at BGR Group, “leads the firm’s Democratic outreach efforts,” according to his professional bio and serves as a member of the Finance Committee of the Democratic Governors Association.
“Over the past three decades, Jonathan has held senior positions to elect Democrats to the White House, Senate, House of Representatives and governorships. A leading political strategist, he has raised nearly half a billion dollars over his career for Democratic campaigns,” the summary adds, including positions such as the National Finance Director for then-Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign.
Mantz has also served as the Finance Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) under Nancy Pelosi.
Following his long stint in Democratic politics, Mantz is now lobbying on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China. Lobbying registration documents reveal Mantz is lobbying the National Security Council (NSC) and providing “strategic counsel on bilateral issues.”
The chamber counts its primary objective as “promot[ing] the development of trade, commerce, and investment between the United States and the People’s Republic of China” and includes over 2,000 corporations as members. “Through engaging in dialogue with our more than 2,300 members, we formulate policy objectives that represent the immediate interests of the Chamber as a whole, and then pursue them at the local, regional and national levels in the United States and the People’s Republic of China,” asserts the group.
To do so, however, the group routinely partners with the Chinese Communist Party on events and conferences.
The upcoming China (Shanxi)–U.S. Symposium on Investments is sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China in partnership with Chinese Communist Party officials from Shanxi province. The group has also organized events in support of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which the U.S. State Department has warned that Beijing “to expand foreign markets for Chinese companies and as a means of drawing nations, particularly their political and economic elites, into Beijing’s geopolitical orbit.”
“Supported by Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and People’s Government of Guangdong Province, it is built as an important high-end platform for business and trade exchange and cooperation, corresponding to the Belt and Road Initiative,” notes the chamber’s event summary.
The American Chamber of Commerce in South China has also sponsored events connecting its members with Chinese Communist Party and military-linked companies such as BGI Genomics, Huawei spin-off Honor, and DJI Drones.
“The delegation will focus on healthcare, manufacturing, and technology industries and offers exclusive opportunities for our members to meet with government officials from the Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission, [and] the Drug Administration of Shenzhen Municipality,” notes a description of a recent chamber delegation to Shanghai.
