The Department of Energy (DOE) quietly held meetings with members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) , according to a letter penned by Republican Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso.
Barrasso alleges in his letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that DOE officials met with CCP officials or businesspeople at least four times since October 2023. Barrasso characterized the meetings as a possible national security risk given the CCP’s demonstrated desire to co-opt American scientists and intellectual property for their own benefit, also highlighting the fact that DOE did not publicize the meetings — previously reported only by Chinese media outlets — to the American people.
“I have learned that these meetings went beyond mere diplomatic courtesies. In some instances, they served as forums in which the taxpayer-funded research and development of our national labs was offered up for the benefit of Chinese state-owned enterprises and, by extension, the CCP,” Barrasso wrote. “The fact that DOE engaged in such misguided interactions, especially in light of the People’s Republic of China’s persistent and pervasive theft of the United States’ scientific and intellectual assets, is profoundly alarming. The apparent desire to keep these meetings shielded from the American public’s scrutiny, with coverage found exclusively within Chinese media outlets, raises significant concern about DOE’s transparency and broader collaboration with the CCP.”
Barrasso Letter to DOE by Nick Pope
On October 11, 2023, DOE China Office Director Stephanie Duran met with Sun Ying, the president of a state-owned Chinese construction technology firm, in Beijing, Barrasso alleges in his letter. Duran allegedly offered Sun Ying and her firm, the China Construction Technology Company (CCTC), the support of some of the U.S.’ most advanced national laboratories.
Sun Ying is an “avid” CCP member, having once told a Chinese media outlet that her company has been “thoroughly implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology,” according to Barrasso’s letter.
Duran “introduced the relevant work of the U.S. Department of Energy in energy policy formulation, energy industry management, and technology research and development, and expressed that she would support Lawrence Berkeley and other U.S. national laboratories to carry out technical exchanges and cooperation with China Construction Technology Company in clean energy and carbon emission reduction” during the meeting, according to a Chinese language press release published by CCTC and translated by Barrasso’s team.
Then, on October 16, 2023, Chao Ding — a scientist affiliated with the DOE-backed Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — visited the Zhengzhou University of Light Industry and offered the school his views on building and developing a new lab at the university, according to Barrasso’s letter. Wu Xuehong, the dean of the university and Chao Ding’s tour guide, is a CCP member and involved in the school’s “support arm” of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), an organ of the CCP that carries out Chinese intelligence and influ
Then-DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Carbon Management Noah Deich met with then-Vice Minister of Science and Technology Zhang Guangjun in Beijing on November 13, 2023, according to Barrasso’s letter. The two discussed “relevant science and technology issues.”
Zhang Guangjun is a member of the CCP and affiliated with the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory group that plays a key role in the CCP’s “united front” work, according to Barrasso’s letter and the The Diplomat. Additionally, Zhang Guangjun was once the vice president of a Chinese university known for obtaining American research and then attempting to find military applications for that information.
Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk also met with Chinese government officials via video on Jan. 12 to launch the so-called “Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s,” according to Barrasso’s letter. The two groups agreed to “maintain close communication, exchange experiences and deepen practical coordination” as outlined in a State Department-negotiated agreement reached in November 2023.
Barrasso asked the DOE to provide details about all official trips to China since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, counterintelligence precautions taken before and during those sojourns and any informal or official agreements reached on those trips. Barrasso also called on the DOE to explain why it did not publicize the various meetings in the American media.
Barrasso ordered the DOE to provide a detailed response to the letter by no later than March 18.
“DOE is openly inviting the compromise of our nation’s taxpayer-funded research, development and technical expertise,” Barrasso’s letter concludes. “This is a dangerous gamble with our future economic and national security that must end immediately.”
Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation
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