Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC, Chinese: 中国人民对外友好协会 or Chinese: 对外友协 in short) is one of the major foreign affairs organizations of the People's Republic of China. The organization is officially termed as a "people's organization" and manages China's sister city relationships.[1] Its stated aim is to promote friendship and mutual understanding between the Chinese people and foreign nations but observers have pointed out that it functions as a front organization in the united front system used to influence and co-opt elites to promote the interests of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while downplaying its association with the CCP.[2][3][4][5]

Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
中国人民对外友好协会
AbbreviationCPAFFC
FormationMay 1954 (1954-05)
Founded atBeijing
TypePeople's organization
Headquarters1 Taijichang Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Chair
Yang Wanming
Parent organization
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
SubsidiariesChina Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development
AffiliationsChinese Communist Party
Websitewww.cpaffc.org.cn

The CPAFFC has been described as the "public face" of the CCP's United Front Work Department.[6] The CPAFFC sponsors and coordinates various front organizations and influence operations in other countries at the national and sub-national level.[5][7]

History

The CPAFFC was founded in May 1954 to promote civic exchanges with countries that did not have diplomatic relations with the PRC.[8] Its leadership is drawn from the upper ranks of the Chinese Communist Party and, as part of the United Front Work Department, it has as its goal "to make the foreign serve China" (Chinese: 洋为中用; pinyin: yáng wéi Zhōng yòng; lit. 'overseas become China use').[9] Its chairperson between 2020 and 2023 was Lin Songtian, China's former ambassador to South Africa who suggested that the U.S. Army was responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China.[10][11]

The CPAFFC has served to cultivate "people to people exchanges" and has attempted to influence sub-national and local levels of government via groups such as the National Governors Association in the U.S.[12] The CPAFFC has sponsored and coordinated with groups such as China Bridge in Germany, the EU-China Friendship Group, Association Sino-Française d'Entraide et d'Amitié (ASFEA) in France, the Italy-China Friendship Association,[13] US–China Peoples Friendship Association, and Neil Bush's George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, among others.[7][5][14][15] Since 2016, the CPAFFC has convened the China-U.S. Sub-National Legislatures Cooperation Forum jointly with the non-profit State Legislative Leaders Foundation.[16]

The China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development (CFFPD) operates under the auspices of the CPAFFC and has forged partnerships with prominent non-profit and private sector entities.[17][18] In April 2015, the CFFPD signed an education partnership with United Technologies (now Raytheon Technologies).[19] The CFFPD maintains a strategic partnership with the Asia Society in the U.S.[18]

In May 2019, the CPAFFC inked an agreement with Irish think tank Asia Matters, founded and chaired by former politician Alan Dukes.[20]

In 2023, the Associated Press reported that personnel affiliated with the CFFPD had been involved in influence operations with the Utah state government.[21]

Responses

In October 2020, the United States Department of State discontinued participation in the U.S.-China Governors Forum to Promote Sub-National Cooperation, established jointly with the National Governors Association in 2011, due to alleged actions by the CPAFFC to "malignly influence state and local leaders" in the U.S.[22][23] However, CPAFFC's China-U.S. Sub-National Legislatures Cooperation Forum remained unaffected by the U.S. Department of State's action.[16]

In 2022, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center issued a warning notice to state and local leaders citing the CPAFFC and the United Front Work Department.[24][25]

Key people
Honorary Chair
Chair
  • Chu Tunan (May 1954–May 1969), Vice-chairman of the 6th NPC Standing Committee[26]
  • Wang Guoquan (May 1972–April 1973), pioneer of the Sino-Japanese relations, former Vice President of the China-Japan Friendship Association[27]
  • Chai Zemin (June 1974–August 1975), the first Chinese Ambassador to the United States
  • Wang Bingnan (August 1975–January 1986), former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Zhang Wenjin (January 1986–October 1989), former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Han Xu (October 1989–May 1994), former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Qi Huaiyuan (May 1994–October 2000), former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Chen Haosu (October 2000–September 2011), former Vice Minister of Culture; his father is the late Marshal and Foreign Minister Chen Yi
  • Li Xiaolin (September 2011–April 2020), whose father is the late Chinese President Li Xiannian[28]
  • Lin Songtian (April 2020–August 2023), former Chinese Ambassador to South Africa[10]
  • Yang Wanming (August 2023–present), former Chinese Ambassador to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile[29]

See also

References
  1. Lomová, Olga; Lulu, Jichang; Hála, Martin (2019-07-28). "Bilateral dialogue with the PRC at both ends: Czech-Chinese "friendship" extends to social credit". Sinopsis. Archived from the original on 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  2. Sullivan, Lawrence R. (2018-09-18). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Foreign Affairs. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-5381-1162-8. Archived from the original on 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  3. Lulu, Jichang (2019-11-26). "Repurposing democracy: The European Parliament China Friendship Cluster". Sinopsis. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  4. Mudie, Luisetta (2020-07-17). "Book, Report Spark Concern Over China's UK Elite Influence Operations". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  5. Yoshihara, Toshi; Bianchi, Jack (July 1, 2020). "Uncovering China's Influence in Europe: How Friendship Groups Coopt European Elites". Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  6. Diamond, Larry; Schell, Orville (2019-08-01). China's Influence and American Interests: Promoting Constructive Vigilance (PDF). Hoover Press. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-8179-2286-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  7. Mudie, Luisetta, ed. (August 6, 2020). "China Uses 'Friendship Associations' to Extend Influence Among Overseas Elites: Report". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  8. Dotson, John (June 26, 2019). "China Explores Economic Outreach to U.S. States Via United Front Entities". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  9. Brady, Anne-Marie (2003). Making the Foreign Serve China: Managing Foreigners in the People's Republic. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 90–91. doi:10.25911/5d5fccdac8aba. hdl:1885/147629. ISBN 0742518612. OCLC 52595251.
  10. "Ambassador Lin Songtian is President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (translated from Chinese)". Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. 13 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  11. Austin, Henry; Smith, Alexander (March 13, 2020). "Coronavirus: Chinese official suggests U.S. Army to blame for outbreak". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  12. Bork, Ellen (February 13, 2020). "Pompeo to Governors: China Is Using You". The American Interest. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  13. Codarin, Livia; Harth, Laura; Lulu, Jichang (2021-11-20). "Hijacking the mainstream: CCP influence agencies and their operations in Italian parliamentary and local politics" (PDF). Sinopsis. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  14. "France-China friendship association to work more closely with Beijing". Intelligence Online. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  15. "Texas A&M Dean Named Senior Academic Advisor for the Bush China-U.S. Relations Foundation". Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. May 24, 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  16. de La Bruyère, Emily; Picarsic, Nathan (November 15, 2021). "All Over the Map: The Chinese Communist Party's Subnational Interests in the United States". Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  17. Cole, J. Michael; Hsu, Szu-Chien (2020-07-30). Insidious Power: How China Undermines Global Democracy. Eastbridge Books. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-78869-213-7. Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  18. "Partners". Asia Society. Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  19. "United Technologies and China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development Announce Education Partnership". www.3blmedia.com. April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  20. Mooney, John (6 September 2020). "Alan Dukes's think tank Asia Matters 'in bed with Beijing propaganda wing'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2020-09-06. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  21. Suderman, Alan; Metz, Sam (2023-03-27). "Amid strained US ties, China finds unlikely friend in Utah". Associated Press. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  22. "U.S. designates Chinese body a foreign mission, quits local cooperation agreement". Reuters. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  23. "Designation of the National Association for China's Peaceful Unification (NACPU) as a Foreign Mission of the PRC". United States Department of State. October 28, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  24. O’Keeffe, Kate; Strobel, Warren P. (2022-07-06). "China Escalates Efforts to Influence U.S. State and Local Leaders, Officials Warn". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  25. "Protecting Government and Business Leaders at the U.S. State and Local Level from People's Republic of China (PRC) Influence Operations" (PDF). National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
  26. Chu Tunan Archived 2018-10-29 at the Wayback Machine , China Vitae. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  27. Itoh, Mayumi (2012). Pioneers of Sino-Japanese Relations: Liao and Takasaki. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 152. ISBN 978-1137027351.
  28. Hsiao, Russell (June 26, 2019). "A Preliminary Survey of CCP Influence Operations in Japan". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  29. Zhuang, Sylvie (24 August 2023). "Latin America expert takes over as head of Chinese friendship association". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
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