A revealing new report from State Armor, highlighted in The Epoch Times, lays out a troubling picture of how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is exploiting the green energy movement in the United States to further its own geopolitical ambitions. Through a little-known but well-funded nonprofit called Energy Foundation China (EFC), the CCP is actively influencing U.S. climate policy while tightening America’s reliance on Chinese technology, supply chains, and materials.
A Friendly-Faced Front for Foreign Influence
Energy Foundation China is officially headquartered in San Francisco, but the vast majority of its staff operate out of Beijing. Its president and CEO, Zou Ji, previously served as a senior official in China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the regime’s top economic planning body. Zou was also part of China’s climate negotiation team for the 2015 Paris Accord.
Despite its U.S. registration as a nonprofit, EFC’s leadership and activities are deeply rooted in the Chinese government. The group shares a Beijing office building with CITIC Group, a state-owned investment firm with direct CCP ties. One board member, Zhang Hongjun, worked for decades in Chinese government ministries before setting up shop as a D.C.-based attorney. Another executive, Liu Xin, spent 15 years working for Beijing’s environmental bureau.
EFC says it funds research and advocacy to address climate change. But experts and security officials say its real purpose is to make the U.S. more dependent on China for energy infrastructure — from solar panels to electric vehicle batteries to rare earth minerals.
Undermining U.S. Energy Independence
State Armor’s report argues that China’s green energy playbook is “an industrial and national security threat.” By pushing the United States to phase out fossil fuels in favor of renewables, and then dominating those supply chains, Beijing gains economic leverage and political influence over its top global rival.
The CCP’s strategy is already taking effect. The U.S. imports the vast majority of its solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, and rare earth minerals from China. Lawmakers have raised alarms over the potential for Chinese-made solar inverters to contain components that allow remote access, sabotage, or data exfiltration.
“The rapid growth of green energy initiatives in the U.S. has undermined American energy dominance,” the report states, “and opened large vectors into American industry for broader CCP influence campaigns.”
Josh Hodges of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission calls this “classic CCP behavior,” describing how the regime uses private shell companies and seemingly benign nonprofits to penetrate U.S. institutions.
Weaponizing the Climate Lobby
EFC’s influence isn’t limited to backroom lobbying. The organization has funneled millions into prominent U.S. environmental groups, including $350,000 to the Rocky Mountain Institute and $200,000 to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2023 alone. Both groups have promoted policies that critics say weaken U.S. energy security. In fact, NRDC was investigated in 2018 for potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act due to its Chinese ties.
The Rocky Mountain Institute, which has an office in Beijing, was behind a study linking gas stoves to asthma — a study later cited by the Biden administration in efforts to restrict gas appliance usage.
Even more concerning, EFC allegedly played a role in U.S. legislative efforts against Western agricultural firms like Bayer, pushing lawsuits that would leave the fertilizer market more open to Chinese control. Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned firm labeled a military-linked company by the Pentagon, is a major global producer of fertilizers and chemicals.
A Coordinated Propaganda Campaign
Jason Isaac of the American Energy Institute says this campaign is not about saving the planet. “They’re weaponizing climate activism, and it’s really undermining U.S. energy security,” he said. “Communist China is manipulating a supposed philanthropic network to steer the U.S. away from reliable domestic energy sources.”
Other experts, like Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild, warn that EFC’s use of “woke ideology” to push green policies is a strategic smokescreen. “They are poisoning our economy and reshaping our energy future,” Hild said.
Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, echoed these concerns. “This report confirms what we’ve long warned: the Chinese Communist Party is using seemingly innocuous nonprofits to influence American policy and undermine U.S. interests — in this case, our energy independence.”
The Bigger Picture: Green Energy as a CCP Lever
EFC has worked closely with U.S. entities and officials, including providing support for an event with California Governor Gavin Newsom during his 2023 visit to China. The group then hosted a follow-up forum to promote “low-carbon cooperation” between the two nations — a move critics say serves as diplomatic cover for Chinese strategic influence.
The group has also sent over $1 million to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to support “green energy research,” which State Armor claims is ultimately designed to improve Chinese industrial efficiency.
Meanwhile, China’s national strategy is clear. As Hodges put it, “They want us focused on green energy and things that are going to be highly cost-ineffective. That puts China in the driver’s seat.”
With green energy production in the U.S. growing — solar output jumped 25 percent and wind energy 8 percent in 2024 — China stands to benefit the most. It supplies the components, controls the minerals, and influences the policy.
State Armor’s founder Michael Lucci has called on Congress to act. “The EFC is not a passive observer,” he wrote to lawmakers. “It is an active player in a geopolitical contest where America’s energy security and global leadership hang in the balance.”
The report is already spurring investigations. Several congressional committees have requested documentation from EFC and are beginning inquiries into its finances, partnerships, and foreign affiliations.
ACZ Editor: Whether you like green energy or not, China’s influence is not welcome.