Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is facing renewed scrutiny over his ties to China after an investigation found that a firm with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) funneled money into the Democrat congressman’s California gubernatorial campaign.
A paper trail revealed that Swalwell’s campaign has received thousands of dollars from CCP-linked operatives.
Records show that Swalwell took $10,000 from the California office of a powerful Beijing-linked law firm with deep connections to the CCP.
Campaign finance filings released this week show Swalwell’s campaign received $9,999 on December 30 from DeHeng Law Offices PC, which listed its address as Pleasanton, California.
According to the firm’s website, the location operates as DeHeng’s “Silicon Valley Office” and appears to employ just one attorney.
That attorney is Keliang “Clay” Zhu, a partner at the firm who donated an additional $5,000 to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign in November.
Zhu has previously contributed more than $10,000 to Swalwell’s House campaigns.
Law Firm’s Roots Trace Back to CCP Ministry of Justice
A review of DeHeng’s history shows the firm was originally founded as the China Law Office, a subsidiary established by the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Justice in the early 1990s, before being rebranded as DeHeng Law Offices in 1995.
While the firm presents itself as independent, it maintains extensive operations across China and continues to advertise longstanding cooperation with Chinese government departments and major state-owned enterprises.
Zhu’s professional biography highlights his work helping Chinese state-owned enterprises and investment funds establish footholds in the United States.
Among the examples he touts is representing “an investment fund of a major state-owned enterprise in acquiring majority shares in one data analytics software company in the Silicon Valley,” a deal he valued at $100 million.
Another biography states that Zhu “has assisted Chinese companies and funds to complete more than $9 billion investments” across sectors, including chips, artificial intelligence, unmanned vehicles, energy, and biopharmaceuticals inside the United States.
Advocacy for Chinese Interests in the U.S.
Zhu also boasts of negotiating directly with U.S. federal agencies on behalf of Chinese clients.
“On behalf of Chinese enterprises, he has negotiated with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and other organizations for many times and achieved compliance plans, which greatly reduced the compliance risks for Chinese clients in the United States,” one bio states.
He further claims to have advised “a governmental investment fund from Shenzhen” on compliance with CFIUS regulations and to have represented “WeChat users in a historic lawsuit that sued President Donald Trump and successfully stopped his WeChat ban in 2020.”
During President Trump’s first term, the administration warned that WeChat’s data collection practices posed a national security threat.
The White House said the data collection practices could allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information and enable surveillance or disinformation campaigns.
Zhu has also been an outspoken critic of state-level legislation aimed at blocking China’s foreign land acquisitions in the United States.
After a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a Texas law banning Chinese nationals from owning or leasing land, Zhu described the measure as “unfair, unconstitutional, and un-American.”
He expressed similar opposition to a Florida law restricting land purchases by individuals from countries considered foreign adversaries, including China.
“All Asian Americans will feel the stigma and the chilling effect created by this Florida law, just like the discriminatory laws did to our ancestors more than a hundred years ago,” Zhu said in 2023 about an anti-land grab bill, according to a press release from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
“We shall not go back.”
Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor Action, warned that the donations highlight a glaring vulnerability in U.S. campaign finance law.
“Congressman Swalwell must finally stop playing footsie with America’s foremost adversary: Communist China,” Lucci told Fox News.
“First was his fiery romance with Fang Fang, a CCP spy, and now he’s caught taking campaign checks from Communist China’s favorite big law firm.”
Lucci called for Congress to reform campaign finance laws to classify donations made on behalf of foreign adversaries as bribes and impose criminal penalties.
He also urged a blanket ban on accepting payment for lobbying or influence work on behalf of U.S. adversaries.
CCP Political Ties Run Deep
Several DeHeng partners based in China openly tout ties to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a core component of the CCP’s United Front strategy used to influence foreign governments.
Among them:
• Zhixu Wu, a senior partner in Kunming, serves on CPPCC committees at the municipal and provincial levels and has received CCP-linked commendations approved by the United Front Work Department.
• Degang Zheng, a senior partner in Shenzhen, lists himself as a member of the CPPCC’s executive committee there.
• Hongli Ma, a senior partner in Hangzhou, says he was recognized for three consecutive years as an “outstanding CPPCC member.”
• Li Wang, chief global partner in Beijing, boasts service as legal counsel to numerous PRC ministries and state-owned enterprises and serves in CPPCC leadership roles tied to Belt and Road initiatives.
Swalwell’s China History Resurfaces
The donations revive scrutiny of Swalwell’s past interactions with China-linked operatives, including Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” who gained access to Swalwell and his campaign before being identified by U.S. officials as part of a Chinese counterintelligence effort.
Swalwell has said he cut ties after being once warned by intelligence officials, and a congressional ethics review found no wrongdoing.
However, Republicans later removed him from the House Intelligence Committee, with then–House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) citing concerns stemming from the episode.
Lucci said Swalwell should return the DeHeng-linked funds and donate them “to an organization that fights the evils of communism,” arguing that accepting money connected to CCP-linked entities undermines public trust.
The campaign donations add to growing concerns among conservatives that Democratic officials continue to downplay, or ignore, the national security risks posed by China’s efforts to gain influence inside U.S. politics.
READ MORE – Canadian Leader Vows to Help China Establish ‘New World Order’
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