Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom had a surprise meeting with China’s dictator Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing on Wednesday to push the left’s climate agenda.
The far-left governor and top CCP officials heaped praise on each other during Newsom’s week-long tour of China, sharing in the belief that his visit marks a “positive” step towards “renewing” U.S.-China relations.
NEWS: @GavinNewsom meets Chinese President Xi inside China’s
Great Hall of the People.
He’s the first Governor to visit China since 2019. @CAgovernor told me they focused mostly on ways they can tackle climate change & fentanyl abuse together. pic.twitter.com/0RMsEVXCSL
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) October 25, 2023
“I’m here in expectation, as you suggest, of turning the page, of renewing our friendship and reengaging (on) foundational and fundamental issues that will determine our collective faith in the future,” said Newsom, who’s the first governor to visit China since 2019.
California and China are two of the world’s largest economies. The reality is, we cannot solve the climate crisis without working together.
Despite our major differences, California is committed to stopping the greatest existential threat our planet has ever known. pic.twitter.com/hf31DvkNKn
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 25, 2023
Xi likewise had warm remarks for Newsom: “I hope your visit will enhance mutual understanding between the two sides and play a positive role in expanding cooperation between China and California and promoting the healthy and stable development of Sino-U.S. relations.”
Newsom also highlighted his allegiance to the CCP’s One-China policy that expressly recognizes the CCP as the ruling government of China, including Taiwan.
“I expressed my support for the One-China policy…as well as our desire not to see independence [of Taiwan],” Newsom said.
Newsom also met with Vice President Han Zheng, who referred to the Democrat as an “old friend.” Han is a past member of the Politburo Standing Committee, an elite group of leaders within the Chinese Communist Party.
“The China-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and the sub-national cooperation is an indispensable part to facilitate the sound and steady growth of China-U.S. relations,” Han said. “I’m sure your weeklong trip will inject positive energy to the development of the China-U.S. relationship.”
Wang Yi, China’s foreign affairs chief, brushed off criticism surrounding Newsom’s visit.
“But I think time and facts will certainly prove that your visit to China is in line with California people’s wishes and in line with the American people’s interests and the expectations of the global society,” he said.
Newsom’s surprise visit comes amid speculation the governor is running a shadow presidential campaign as 80-year-old Joe Biden sinks in the polls over his increasingly obvious cognitive and physical decline.
“Newsom is currently in China, running a shadow campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, just in case President Biden succumbs to the realities of his age and waning mental capacity,” wrote former congressional staffer Derek Hunter in The Hill.
“The possibility that Biden will drop out this cycle is remote. But whether Biden is gone next year or in 2028, Democrats have Newsom waiting in the wings.”
Hunter went on to point out that Newsom’s visit to China is more symbolic than substantive and comes ahead of another planned visit to Israel.
“In China, Newsom is signing meaningless, symbolic agreements on climate change with counterparts who probably do not intend to honor them. His trip is a minor propaganda win for the world’s biggest and most unrepentant carbon polluter,” Hunter wrote.
“China’s ruling Communist Party, after all, is already building more than 100 new coal-fired power plants, and each week it reportedly approves permits for two additional new ones. So Newsom’s trip to China is a perfect symbol of his and his state’s ardent commitment to pretend to do something about what he calls ‘the climate crisis.’”