WHOSE CHINA TIES? [THREAD]

1/ In Jan this year this story came out. In late 2017 during Trump's state visit to China there was an unofficial meeting not logged between Jared Kushner & Chinese elites in Beijing. The meeting was arranged by Wendi Deng https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/01/30/trump-administration-mum-on-secretive-kushner-meeting-in-china-in-2017.html?__twitter_impression=true

2/ Also present at this secret meeting was the US Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad. Now this is all curious, as earlier in that year, 2017, US counter-intelligence officials had warned Kushner that Wendi Deng was a literal asset of the Chinese Govt. Who were these elites???

3/ Now we don't know who from the Chinese side was at this meeting, but subsequently two things happened. Ivanka Trump got her Chinese trademarks & President Trump gave assurances about Chinese telco ZTE. There is no evidence that Kushner informed intel officials of the meeting

4/ Even stranger, just months after this meeting, Eric Branstad, the son of the US Ambassador to China, went to China with ZTE lobbyists to meet with the Chinese Govt. This was while Eric was working at the US Commerce Dept. No full disclosure has been given of what was said

5/ Now Eric Branstad had a history of using his ties to Donald Trump in order to drum up business for himself. Remember, he himself was working for the US Govt at the time in the Commerce Department

6/ The lobbyist Branstad was working with, Bryan Lanza, were working with the China Development Research Foundation, an organization that had links to China's MSS. Similarly another individual Branstad & Lanza worked with, Li Zhao, had links to groups connected to United Front

7/ Eric's father Terry, the Ambassador to China, has known China's President Xi since the mid 1980's. The meeting arranged during the state visit by Wendi Deng in late 2017 which Terry Branstad also attended raises many questions, especially as to Deng's connections in China

8/ Now, a year ago Trump was calling on China to investigate Joe Biden & his son Hunter. Now there may or may not be some dealings that Hunter did that were shady. However, the current attack campaign on the Biden's was a long time in the making. Context matters

9/ This is especially so when we consider that so called "Chinese Billionaire" Guo Wengui (aka Miles Kwok) has strong links to China's Ministry of State Security & is a suspected asset of Beijing.That Guo has been working with Steve Bannon disseminating disinformation is telling

10/ I'll leave you with this assessment by long time ABC, now BBC journalist, Stephen McDonell. Stephen has been based in Beijing for 9yrs & speaks fluent Mandarin. Are Trump and the Chinese Govt mutually fulfilling each others goals under a veneer of faux tensions? Maybe