WASHINGTON — A prominent manufacturing executive alleged to have aided the Chinese Communist Party’s economic campaign against the United States has contributed thousands of dollars to Democratic Senate hopefuls, according to federal campaign finance filings.
Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America Corporation, an Illinois-based company, donated $7,000 apiece to the campaigns of Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Federal rules cap individual contributions at $3,500 per election, but Pin gave to both the primary and general election efforts of each of the four Democrats, bringing his combined support for those campaigns to $28,000.
Across the current cycle, Pin has contributed $63,000 to sitting senators and Senate candidates, with most of the money flowing to Democrats. His donations include support for two unsuccessful Senate contenders, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.). He also gave $7,000 each to Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the Democratic Senate nominee in that state, and to retiring Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.).
Pin’s latest recorded contribution, dated Aug. 10, went to Pappas, who is widely viewed as Democrats’ favored candidate to keep retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s New Hampshire seat in the party’s column.
Pappas holds a narrow two-point advantage over his likely Republican rival, former Sen. John Sununu, in the most recent RealClearPolitics polling average.
Wanxiang America operates as a subsidiary of Wanxiang Group Corporation, a Hangzhou-based Chinese conglomerate and the country’s largest auto parts manufacturer. The company was founded in 1969 by Lu Guanqiu, who was posthumously honored by the Chinese Communist Party in 2021 as an outstanding member.
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Following Lu’s death in 2017, leadership of Wanxiang passed to his son, Lu Weiding, and his son-in-law, Pin, who established Wanxiang America in 1994.
In 2014, Wanxiang America bought the assets of bankrupt electric car maker Fisker Automotive for $149.2 million. A year earlier, the company snapped up battery maker A123 Systems for $257 million, despite concerns raised by lawmakers who A123 had developed its technology using US government grants.
The Wanxiang Group described Pin as a “member of the Communist Party of China,” according to a translated document first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. Lu Weiding also described Pin as one of “seven Party Committee members” in a 2018 speech, the outlet reported.
In July of this year, Wanxiang Group celebrated the CCP’s 105th anniversary, saying in a statement that it “listens to the Party, follows the Party’s lead, holds high the banner, and prioritizes Party building.”
Federal immigration law imposes restrictions on those who have “been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party.”
Last year, Pin donated thousands of dollars to Democratic gubernatorial candidates Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, drawing scrutiny.
“The donor, Pin Ni, has an extensive history of assisting the CCP’s political warfare and influence operations upon the U.S., and of generally aligning with and carrying out party commands,” Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, a group that promotes policies to combat the CCP, told The Post at the time.
None of the four Democrats’ campaigns responded to requests for comment. Attempts to contact Pin were unsuccessful.
