House Republican Sounds Alarm Over Columbia’s CCP-Linked ‘China Trek’

A student organization at Columbia University is promoting a student foreign exchange trip to China sponsored by a group allegedly linked to a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence operation.

In a letter sent Tuesday to acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman, Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, called on the Ivy League school to cut ties with the program. The so-called “China Trek” is co-sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), which Moolenaar said has been linked to the CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), the regime’s vast influence and intelligence apparatus.

“As the Select Committee and U.S. intelligence officials have warned in the past, CUSEF is an instrument of the CCP’s approach to political warfare, including influence operations intended to shape Americans’ views toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government,” Moolenaar wrote. “In the interest of protecting students and the integrity of Columbia University’s programs, I urge you to immediately terminate any ties that the university or its student groups have with CUSEF and commit to a rigorous review of student groups’ foreign funding and partnerships going forward.”
The UFWD conducts a “blend of engagement, influence activities, and intelligence operations that the uses to shape its political environment, including to influence other countries’ policy toward the PRC and to gain access to advanced foreign technology,” according to the House Select Committee on the CCP.

The application form for the “China Trek,” open exclusively to Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs students, notes that “CUSEF will cover transportation, board, and lodging expenses,” according to the letter.