SAN FRANCISCO – House lawmakers blasted two US business associations Tuesday for “unconscionably” selling $40,000 tickets to sit at Chinese President Xi Jinping’s table at a dinner during the Communist leader’s trip here for the APEC summit, The Post has exclusively learned.
The US-China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations – both organizations for American companies that do business with Beijing – are set to host Xi for a $2,000-per-plate dinner with American corporate executives after the Chinese leader meets with President Biden on Wednesday.
But for just $40,000 – roughly the price of a new car, as Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) noted – executives may sit at Xi’s table
“It is unconscionable that American companies might pay thousands of dollars to join a ‘welcome dinner’ hosted by the very same CCP officials who have facilitated a genocide against millions of innocent men, women, and children in Xinjiang,” the select committee wrote in a letter to the hosting associations.
The House panel, which works on policies to manage the tensions and competition between Washington and Beijing, also alleged that the associations hosting the leader of the top US adversary may need to be scrutinized for their role in US-China relations.
“USCBC and NCUSCR’s decision to profit from selling access to the senior-most CCP official responsible for the Uyghur genocide raises serious questions about whether these organizations are playing responsible roles in the bilateral relationship,” they wrote.
In a video posted to X, Gallagher said the business community “needs to remove its golden blindfolds and understand that doing business with the CCP risks the safety of their employees, their shareholders, investors and the savings of millions of Americans.”
“$40,000 may buy you a meal with Xi, but it can’t buy you a conscience,” he quipped.
Additionally, Gallagher cautioned financial institutions that “view the dinner as a chance to sign new deals facilitating the flow of American capital to the companies blacklisted by the US government for their support of the CCP’s military buildup and human rights abuses” that China is known to arbitrarily hold Americans captive.
“It is easier to enter the PRC than it is to leave – something as true for capital as for executives detained on fabricated charges,” he said.
In its letter, the select committee pressed the associations to turn over a “complete list of individuals, companies, financial institutions and other entities that have purchased tickets to the CCP dinner,” along with a separate list of those who paid the $40,000 to break bread with Xi at his table.
They also asked for a breakdown of how profits from the shindig will be “distributed between USCBC, NCUSCR and other entities, as applicable,” as well as what the associations have done to push back against Beijing’s human rights abuses in China.
“What steps, if any, has USCBC and NCUSCR taken to defend human rights in China and to prevent the genocide of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang?” they asked.
In his video, Gallagher mocked the dinner, which he said was “in honor of CCP officials who are at this moment, in our State Department’s own words, ‘conducting genocide against millions of innocent men, women and children in Xinjiang.'”
“So how does that inner conversation go?” ‘Wow, this filet mignon is a little dry, how’s your extrajudicial internment of over a million Uyghur Muslims going?'” he sniped. “‘This Sauvignon Blanc is really nice, congrats on completely crushing civil society in Hong Kong.'”
For those attending the event, the select committee warned that US executives “should not be fooled by celebratory toasts and promises of future cooperation,” as “doing business in China today includes the increased risk of arbitrary detentions, exit bans and raids by the Chinese intelligence services.”
“The CCP’s continued efforts to weaponize market access and supply chain vulnerabilities further complicate the business landscape, and executives should take proactive steps to de-risk,” they wrote.
The panel noted that was “particularly true” for US companies that work on “on critical and emerging technologies, to include pharmaceuticals, bio and [medical technologies], batteries, AI, advanced computing and semiconductor manufacturing,” as China is increasingly interested in co-opting American technology.
They also cautioned that US financial institutions “should not view engagement with CCP officials as an opportunity to sign and celebrate new deals that facilitate flows of American capital or technology to PRC companies that have been blacklisted by the US government or that otherwise support PRC military advancement or CCP human rights abuses.”
Gallagher half-joked that American executives should “check for their phones and wallets” as they leave, as the CCP has “a pension for the theft of intellectual property.”
“Gullible executives who do fork over the annual wage of the average American to attend the CCP propaganda exercise,” he concluded, “should remember the willingness of the CCP to weaponize market access and supply chain vulnerabilities.”