In an exclusive revelation, it has been discovered that Ron Busby, a prominent associate of Vice President Kamala Harris, has held several meetings with officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during a business tour to China.
Busby, who has been lauded by Harris as an "extraordinary leader" demonstrating "courageous leadership," pledged to "[spread] the voice of Black businesses" during his visit to the Asian nation.
As reported by Fox News Digital, Busby, a frequent visitor to the Biden-Harris White House and the enduring president of the U.S. Black Chambers, interacted with numerous CCP officials during an undisclosed trip to China. The journey took him to Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an over a span of 10 days. He was part of a delegation comprising New York government officials and business leaders, including then-Gov. Andrew Cuomos chief diversity officer Rose Rodriguez. This group was known as the "New Majority Alliance."
The delegation's journey in September 2017 was facilitated by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York, a Chinese government entity in New York that acts as a spokesperson for the CCP. The New York in China Center, with offices in New York and Shanghai, was the official sponsor of the trip. The center was established in 2008 by John Wang, who was recently appointed by New York Citys Democrat Mayor Eric Adams and currently serves on the board of directors for the Empire State Development Board after being nominated in 2022 by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Busby's social media is filled with images from the trip, including a selfie of him en route to China with the caption, "On the way to China. Spreading the voice of Black businesses around the globe." Another image shows Busby and the delegation seated around a table with the CCP emblem in the background. Post-trip, Busby expressed on Facebook that the United States, Africa, and China "need each other for the new sustainability."
During the 2017 Essence Festival Durban Business Conference, Busby shared, "Two weeks ago we were in China and we did a similar memorandum of understanding [MOU] with Chinese Chamber of Commerce. [China understands] the importance of being on the continent obviously, but they also understand that there needs to be a relationship between the people on the continent, and they understand that African Americans have a natural relationship here, and so we [three] will work together to bring their resources that they have along with the ingenuity, creativity that we have in the United States, to bring that here. Collectively, all three continents can grow, and they're very excited as well as we are."
A 2022 "BLACKprint" report released by Busbys "U.S. Black Chambers" highlighted "Black entrepreneurs" gaining access to "global business opportunities" and mentioned that they have "signed Memorandum of Understandings with business leaders in Durban, Morocco, and China."
The New York in China Center's website archives reveal numerous photos from the trip, including three separate reports emphasizing the delegations meetings with CCP officials. Busby reportedly told Chinese officials that the "[U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.] administered more than 100 chambers, and he is willing to share and communicate the resources with Xi'an in various fields."
Busby's role as the president of the U.S. Black Chambers has enabled him to become a significant business leader within the Black community and has provided him with opportunities to engage with top U.S. government officials, including President Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Vice President Harris, on behalf of his group.
In July of this year, Harris "hosted an exclusive reception at her private residence" to honor Black business leaders, in partnership with U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. Busby, who was present at the reception, described it as a "powerful acknowledgment of the remarkable progress Black business leaders have achieved in shaping our nations economic landscape." Earlier, Harris and Busby were in Detroit, Michigan for an economic recovery event, where Harris praised Busby as an "extraordinary leader" who has demonstrated "courageous leadership." Harris also referred to Busby as her "Oakland brother" during another event in 2021.
The 2017 trip was described as an opportunity "to build communication channels and networks for Chinese companies who are looking for development in the United States." The delegation met with "Li Yuan, the Vice Mayor of Xian. Huang Xiaohua-the Vice Secretary-General of Xian Provincial People's Government, Xing Xin-Director of Xi'an Investment Cooperation Committee, Cai Lanfang-Vice President of Xian People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and other representatives."
Busbys involvement in a delegation meeting with a representative of People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries is likely to be scrutinized due to the U.S. governments repeated warnings about the group. In 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a press statement warning it is a "Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments" that "has sought to directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRCs global agenda."
A 2022 report from the Biden administrations Director of National Intelligence (DNI) also warned about the group and highlighted how U.S.-based Chinese consulates like the one sponsoring Busbys trip to China "play an active role" in "foreign influence operations" on behalf of the CCP.
Another report from the trip said Busby and the delegation met with Chen Xiangming, Secretary of Shanghai Songjiang District, and several other CCP leaders from the area. "Mr. Cheng Xiangmin expressed thanks to the New York Center for its long-term work and efforts in establishment of friendship between the two cities, and said he looked forward to strengthening communication with the New Majority Alliance and further cooperation in various fields such as science and technology, health care and education," the report said.
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