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of the US federal government. Because most PRC attempts to influence American opinion and practices occur at the local level, and because local media, universities, companies, and advocacy agencies are often involved in these efforts, knowingly and unknowingly, local leaders, just as much as national leaders, need an understanding
of PRC goals and strategies.
“We Have Friends All Over the World”
China pursues sister city relationships under an organization called the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which is part of China’s united front bureaucratic structure (See Appendix: Chinese Influence Operations Bureaucracy) that aims to strengthen the rule of the Chinese Communist Party and increase China’s influence overseas. With its long-standing Maoist slogan, “We Have Friends All Over the World,” the association had its heyday in the 1950s, when China was isolated and the group became a bridge between China and overseas supporters.
It was marginalized in the 1980s, as China opened to the West and established diplomatic relations with hundreds of countries. However, under the administration of Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, the association has been revitalized as China seeks to groom local business, political, and media leaders in countries around the world. Its new standing is exemplified by the splendor of its headquarters located in the elegant
old Italian Embassy compound near Tiananmen Square.
The way the association and other Chinese organizations cultivate relationships
with local officials follows a general pattern. First, in the United States, China demands that sister city relationships and state-to-province sister relations be carried out under “principles” on which Sino-US relations were established in the 1970s
(as interpreted by the Chinese side). This means that China’s representatives will likely protest should local officials seek to maintain ties with representatives of Taiwan or with other individuals, such as the Dalai Lama, whom China regards as hostile forces. Second, it is important to understand why China seeks a relationship with localities, especially during times of tension with the federal government: China
seeks to build alternative networks of interaction and support, while using these new relationships to help gain new traction back in Washington. Local American expertise, information, and opinion are also of more than passing political interest to Beijing, even if on paper an exchange relationship is only to “enhance people’s friendship, further international cooperation, safeguard world peace and promote common
development,”' for Beijing understands clearly that local leaders today become the
State and Local Governments
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