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also played a key diplomatic role in certain instances, such as providing a liaison
dialogue channel between the United States and North Korea.
In addition, the ILD performs a range of other functions:
e Administering “private sector” liaison organizations to facilitate contact with
think tanks, NGOs, and individuals worldwide;
e Collecting current intelligence and information on the foreign policies, domestic political scene and political parties, and societies in various nations
worldwide;
e Sending special study teams abroad to research important topics related to
China’s reforms;
e Contributing to the work of Chinese embassies worldwide (usually monitoring domestic politics and liaising with domestic political parties, movements, and
personages);
e Working with other CCP Central Committee departments and State Council ministries to facilitate their work overseas (e.g., assisting the United Front Work Department concerning Taiwan, the External Propaganda Leading Group/State Council Information Office concerning China’s image abroad, or the National
People’s Congress on parliamentary exchanges);
e Arranging visits of central-level, provincial-level, municipal-level, and
occasionally sub-provincial level CCP officials abroad;
e Hosting foreign leaders, politicians, party officials, ex-officials, as well as a range
of foreign policy specialists, on tours of China;
e Hosting biannual World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, and the annual “CCP in Dialogue with the World” meeting.
As such, the ILD performs extremely important roles overseas and is a key—but underappreciated and even unknown—instrument in China’s international influence
activities.
Appendix 1
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020599