SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — China’s global campaign to win friends and influence policy has blossomed in a surprising place: Utah, a deeply religious and conservative state with few obvious ties to the world’s most powerful communist country.
Taowen Le, a Weber State University professor of information systems and technologies, speaks during an interview at Weber State University on Oct. 11, 2022, in Ogden, Utah. An investigation by the Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the Utah’s officials and lawmakers. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)© Provided by The Associated Press
An investigation by The Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the state’s officials and lawmakers. Those efforts have paid dividends at home and abroad, the AP found: Lawmakers delayed legislation Beijing didn’t like, nixed resolutions that conveyed displeasure with its actions and expressed support in ways that enhanced the Chinese government’s image.
A letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Cascade Elementary School fourth grade students in early 2020, is photographed Feb. 13, 2023. China’s global influence campaign has blossom in Utah, where state officials were thrilled with Xi’s letter. It was heavily covered in Chinese state media, which quoted Utah students calling Xi a kind “grandpa” — a familiar trope in Chinese propaganda. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)© Provided by The Associated Press
Its work in Utah is emblematic of a broader effort by Beijing to secure allies at the local level as its relations with the U.S. and its Western allies have turned acrimonious. U.S. officials say local leaders are at risk of being manipulated by China and have deemed the influence campaign a threat to national security.
Republican Utah State Sen. Curtis Bramble poses for a portrait at the Utah State Capitol on, Feb. 19, 2020, at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City. An investigation by the Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the Utah’s officials and lawmakers (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)© Provided by The Associated Press
Beijing’s success in Utah shows “how pervasive and persistent China has been in trying to influence America,” said Frank Montoya Jr., a retired FBI counterintelligence agent who lives in Utah.
“Utah is an important foothold,” he said. “If the Chinese can succeed in Salt Lake City, they can also make it in New York and elsewhere.”
Security experts say that China’s campaign is widespread and tailored to local communities. In Utah, the AP found, Beijing and pro-China advocates appealed to lawmakers’ affiliations with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon church, which is the state’s dominant religion and one that has long dreamed of expanding in China.
Taowen Le, a Weber State University professor of information systems and technologies, speaks during an interview at Weber State University on Oct. 11, 2022, in Ogden, Utah. An investigation by the Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the Utah’s officials and lawmakers. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)© Provided by The Associated Press
An investigation by The Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the state’s officials and lawmakers. Those efforts have paid dividends at home and abroad, the AP found: Lawmakers delayed legislation Beijing didn’t like, nixed resolutions that conveyed displeasure with its actions and expressed support in ways that enhanced the Chinese government’s image.
A letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Cascade Elementary School fourth grade students in early 2020, is photographed Feb. 13, 2023. China’s global influence campaign has blossom in Utah, where state officials were thrilled with Xi’s letter. It was heavily covered in Chinese state media, which quoted Utah students calling Xi a kind “grandpa” — a familiar trope in Chinese propaganda. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)© Provided by The Associated Press
Its work in Utah is emblematic of a broader effort by Beijing to secure allies at the local level as its relations with the U.S. and its Western allies have turned acrimonious. U.S. officials say local leaders are at risk of being manipulated by China and have deemed the influence campaign a threat to national security.
Republican Utah State Sen. Curtis Bramble poses for a portrait at the Utah State Capitol on, Feb. 19, 2020, at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City. An investigation by the Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the Utah’s officials and lawmakers (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)© Provided by The Associated Press
Security experts say that China’s campaign is widespread and tailored to local communities. In Utah, the AP found, Beijing and pro-China advocates appealed to lawmakers’ affiliations with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon church, which is the state’s dominant religion and one that has long dreamed of expanding in China.
Beijing’s campaign in Utah has raised concerns among state and federal lawmakers and drawn the attention of the Justice Department.
Beijing’s success in Utah shows “how pervasive and persistent China has been in trying to influence America,” said Frank Montoya Jr., a retired FBI counterintelligence agent who lives in Utah.
“Utah is an important foothold,” he said. “If the Chinese can succeed in Salt Lake City, they can also make it in New York and elsewhere.”
Security experts say that China’s campaign is widespread and tailored to local communities. In Utah, the AP found, Beijing and pro-China advocates appealed to lawmakers’ affiliations with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, better known as the Mormon church, which is the state’s dominant religion and one that has long dreamed of expanding in China.
Beijing’s campaign in Utah has raised concerns among state and federal lawmakers and drawn the attention of the Justice Department.