The Hewlett Foundation, a progressive grantmaking organization with a history of supporting Chinese Communist Party-affiliated green energy initiatives, sponsored California governor Gavin Newsom's (D.) 2023 climate-focused trip to China, records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show.
At Newsom's request, the foundation paid $300,000 to cover the California delegation's travel expenses, according to a California database that tracks when public officials in the state request private funding. It was the only third-party payment Newsom requested to fund the trip.
While in China, Newsom met with several of the Hewlett Foundation's grantees and their green-energy allies, a revelation that puts a renewed focus on the trip and calls into question how much influence the foundation exercised over it. Foundation grantees were given special access to Newsom and were afforded the ability to coordinate his itinerary.
Newsom, for example, visited Peking University. The Hewlett Foundation gave $800,000 to the Peking University Education Foundation in 2023. The foundation funnels millions of dollars to the Chinese state-run institution every year.
While visiting the school, Newsom delivered remarks calling for the United States and China to work together on climate issues and change "the way we produce and consume energy." He also promoted an electric vehicle manufactured by a Chinese automaker as a "preview of things to come" during the trip. The manufacturer, BYD, is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government and has contracts with China's military.
Florence Fang and Zhao Lin, who both serve on the board of the Hewlett-backed Peking University Education Foundation, attended the event.
One of the Hewlett Foundation's largest beneficiaries, meanwhile, is Energy Foundation China (EFC), a CCP-tied climate nonprofit that operates out of Beijing and has been accused of trafficking energy policies that promote Chinese strategic interests into America. During his trip, Newsom participated in the Great Wall Climate Dialogue, a climate symposium that EFC supports. Newsom was photographed with EFC chief executive officer Ji Zou, a former high-ranking Chinese climate official who helped negotiate the 2015 Paris Agreement, at a reception afterwards.
Another Hewlett-backed group, the University of California, Berkeley's California-China Climate Institute (CCCI), took credit for planning and supporting Newsom's entire trip. The institute said it facilitated several friendly climate agreements Newsom signed with Chinese government agencies and supported Newsom's meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Over the last decade, the Hewlett Foundation has directed at least $112 million to EFC, the Chinese climate nonprofit. It's an eye-popping sum that dwarfs the amount it has given to most of its other grant recipients, enough to make it a "key funder" of the group. The chief of Hewlett's environmental program sits on EFC's board, another sign of the foundation's support for the Beijing group's mission.
EFC has been the subject of several congressional and watchdog investigations in recent years. Critics say the group, whose staff largely consists of former CCP officials, advances Chinese interests by backing causes aimed at shutting down fossil fuels and promoting green energy alternatives. While the United States is the world's largest oil and gas producer, China dominates global green energy supply chains.
Between 2021 and 2023, the Hewlett Foundation gave another $3.6 million to Berkeley's CCCI, making it one of the institute's primary funders. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D.) founded the CCCI in 2019 in partnership with the Chinese government's climate czar Xie Zhenhua and the state-run Tsinghua University.
The Hewlett Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Newsom spokesman Izzy Gardon downplayed the funding for Newsom's China trip and said the arrangement was designed to ensure California taxpayers do not pay for the governor's international travel.
"As is standard practice across both Republican and Democratic administrations, the California State Protocol Foundation covers the costs of the Governor's international travel to avoid burdens on taxpayers. The Hewlett Foundation provided a grant to the Protocol Foundation, a fact that’s publicly reported in the Governor's behested payments disclosure," Gardon said.
