Select Committee on China chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and leading UK lawmakers from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) have formally written to the 48 Group Club to demand transparency regarding the organization’s extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its “United Front” influence operations. The letter targets the organization’s deep-rooted links to Beijing’s “United Front” influence operations.
Moolenaar and Merkley, who serve as US co-chairs of IPAC, sent the letter with Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP (IPAC UK Co-Chair, former leader of the Conservative Party) and Sarah Champion MP (IPAC UK Member).
In the letter, the lawmakers warn, “United Front work is a sophisticated blend of engagement, influence, and intelligence operations that the CCP employs to shape its political environment and advance its strategic objectives. These operations… seek to influence companies, associations, universities, think tanks, civic organizations, prominent individuals, and public opinion worldwide.”
They also write that “The CCP sees the 48 Group as a tool for its ability to shape British narratives and for elite capture. Reportedly with over 500 members, the 48 Group has been described as serving “as a meeting place and networking hub for friends of China, through which Beijing grooms Britain’s elites.” Given the 48 Group’s political access to the current UK government—the CCP is incentivised to cultivate influence with the organization to provide it with channels of leverage over the United Kingdom, its government, and, by extension, its British and international audience. In turn, senior leaders of the 48 Group have been on the record repeatedly spouting CCP talking points and propaganda.”
In conclusion, the lawmakers ask the 48 Group to turn over documents, including “compliance, risk, and due-diligence assessments that the 48 Group conducted when entering or expanding its partnerships with individuals affiliated with the CCP’s United Front system.”
- A copy of the full letter is here.
