Robert Schmad writes for the Washington Examiner about disturbing ties between a major American charitable group and communist China.
A charity led by billionaire and Democratic mega-donor Bill Gates funneled millions of dollars into government departments run by the Chinese Communist Party as well as organizations that collaborate with the Chinese military, newly released tax forms show.In 2023, the Gates Foundation directed roughly $11.7 million into various arms of China’s communist-controlled government, as well as $2 million to a corporation the Department of Defense determined works with the Chinese military and an additional $6.7 million to state-run universities that help prop up Chinese President Xi Jinping’s regime. The multitude of six and seven-figure grants from the Gates Foundation to Chinese government entities builds on a multi-year trend of Microsoft billionaires supporting America’s chief geopolitical rival.
Most of the grants paid out by the Gates Foundation to Chinese entities in 2023 were for public health initiatives concerning research, global health awareness and sanitation, among other areas.
CRRC, a Chinese corporation manufacturing railway vehicles, was among the top recipients of Gates Foundation funds. It raked in $2 million from the charity in 2023, with an additional $2.1 million earmarked for it in 2024. The rail corporation is also an extension of the Chinese armed forces, according to the Department of Defense. CRRC appears on the Pentagon’s 1260H entity list, which covers entities that are “directly or indirectly owned, controlled or beneficially owned by” the Chinese military as well as others that are deeply involved in China’s military-industrial complex through research and manufacturing.
The Gates Foundation provided CRRC with a seven-figure grant to fund its work on “water, sanitation, and hygiene.” Chinese military companies like CRRC have used their deep pockets to pay lobbyists to influence policy in Washington, D.C., often spending millions to defeat legislation intended to bolster America’s defenses against China.
