We all knew Biden has some weird dealings with the Chinese Communist Party. But the buck didn’t stop with him.
Now a top Democrat is in hot water after his backroom ties to China were uncovered.
Unearthed Ties Raise Eyebrows in California
A recently surfaced LinkedIn post has cast a spotlight on Darlene Chiu-Bryant, a longtime confidante of California Governor Gavin Newsom, revealing her close collaboration with a former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official.
The endorsement, penned in 2017 by Ying He, who served as China’s consul general in San Francisco from 2012 to 2016, hails Bryant as a “Super lady” and hints at a deeper connection that’s now sparking questions.
He, who by 2017 was a division director at China’s Ministry of Commerce, didn’t hold back in her praise. “Darlene is the right person when you need to develop business (sic) in either California or Beijing,” she wrote.
“She is an excellent PR professional and able to fulfill the most challenging tasks. She helped me a lot when I was consul in SF, promoting US-Sino investment and trade. In all, she is a friend in need and a Super Lady indeed.” He’s own profile touts over a decade in CCP government roles and “extensive connections” with both U.S. and Chinese authorities, amplifying the significance of her words.
ChinaSF: A Bridge or a Breach?
At the time of He’s post, Bryant was steering ChinaSF, an initiative launched by Newsom in 2008 when he was San Francisco’s mayor. Now under fresh scrutiny, ChinaSF is accused of ushering over 100 Chinese firms into the city, some with questionable ties, according to a new book uncovered by Fox News Digital. Titled Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who K*lled the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All, the book dedicates a chapter to Newsom’s brainchild, alleging it became a conduit for CCP influence.
Among the standout examples is Suntech, a CCP-backed solar company Newsom personally wooed to the U.S. He repeatedly lauded its CEO, Dr. Zhengrong Shi, even appointing him to ChinaSF’s advisory board.
The book also flags real estate entanglements, claiming Newsom pocketed over $23,000 in anonymous donations from Z&L Properties, a Chinese firm whose billionaire owner was later convicted of bribing a San Francisco official. A 2017 ChinaSF photo captures Bryant and Newsom posing before a Z&L Properties backdrop, captioned: “ChinaSF was started by our Lt Governor Gavin Newsom when he was Mayor of San Francisco in 2008. Proud to work with our partners and companies recruited to the SF Bay Area.”
Newsom’s Vision Meets Controversy
Newsom’s push for ChinaSF kicked off with a 2005 trip to China alongside Bryant, then his deputy communications director. “The two most important things for us are energy independence and establishing a stronger relationship with China,” he said before the visit, as reported by China Daily. Years later, as Bryant took the helm of ChinaSF, her ties to Newsom—and to Chinese interests—deepened. The Fool’s Gold authors, Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter, argue the initiative morphed into a gateway for CCP officials and shady operators to tap into California’s economy.
Bryant’s social media footprint reinforces her role. A 2019 GlobalSF post, likely written by her, gushes over Newsom as a “visionary leader” who “started [ChinaSF] in 2008 to be the China Desk for the city and county of [San Francisco] to facilitate inbound investment.” Another photo shows her beaming at Newsom’s gubernatorial inauguration.
Broader Shadows of CCP Influence
The story echoes concerns about CCP outreach in the U.S. Fox News Digital previously spotlighted Huang Ping, a former consul general in New York, who peddled CCP narratives while brushing off Uyghur genocide claims.
His campus tours and meetings with American leaders raised red flags about influence peddling. Michael Sobolik, author of Countering China’s Great Game, warned last year: “The Chinese Communist Party is playing for keeps at the nuclear level and every layer below that. And it’s not just the universities. The Chinese Communist Party is looking to infiltrate every aspect of American society.”
Sobolik added, “If we try to edit undo our way out of this whole list of infiltrations and threats that the CCP sends our direction that’s good policy work. We need to insulate ourselves. But good housekeeping is the bare minimum of waging a cold war and winning a cold war.”
When Fox News Digital sought comment from Newsom’s office, the response sidestepped specifics, pointing instead to an article on conspiracy theories titled, “Conspiracy theorists really do see the world differently, new study shows.”
