REVEALED: Top American Generals Joined a CCP Spy Front's Backchannel Pushing China’s Military Agenda in Washington. Some Ended Up on China’s Payroll.

From Hillary Clinton to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, it's treason at the highest levels.

For more than a decade, former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs, combatant commanders, Cabinet officials and members of Congress participated in a military dialogue organized with a Chinese group identified by congressional investigators as a front engaged in “intelligence collection” and “propaganda and perception management.” Some ended up on China’s payroll shortly after.

The Chinese Communist Party did not need to penetrate the Pentagon to gain access to America’s military leadership.

It built a private network around it.

For more than a decade, some of the most powerful retired officers in the United States participated in closed-door meetings with senior Chinese military leaders. The discussions covered Taiwan, the South China Sea, missile defense, cybersecurity and the future of relations between the two militaries.

The American participants included:

• Gen. Peter Pace, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

• Adm. William “Bill” Owens, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

• Gen. John Abizaid, former commander of U.S. Central Command

• Gen. Raymond Odierno, former Army Chief of Staff

• Adm. Jonathan Greenert, former Chief of Naval Operations

• Adm. Timothy Keating, former commander of U.S. Pacific Command

• Gen. Ronald Fogleman, former Air Force Chief of Staff

• Gen. Dennis Reimer, former Army Chief of Staff

• Adm. Joseph Prueher, former commander of U.S. Pacific Command

• Gen. John Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army

• Gen. Walter Sharp, former commander of U.S. Forces Korea

• Gen. Charles Jacoby, former commander of U.S. Northern Command

• Gen. Charles Wilhelm, former commander of U.S. Southern Command

The program was called the Sanya Initiative.

Its glossy brochures framed it as a peaceful exchange between retired American and Chinese generals. Photographs showed senior officers chatting in Hawaiian shirts, touring military institutions and sitting across from Chinese commanders in ornate meeting rooms.

But the initiative was not organized with an ordinary veterans’ association.

It was funded by the China-United States Exchange Foundation, or CUSEF, and conducted with the China Association for International Friendly Contact, or CAIFC.

Congressional investigators have described CAIFC as “a front organization” for the People’s Liberation Army’s former General Political Department.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission found that the group performed the dual roles of “intelligence collection” and “conducting propaganda and perception management campaigns.”

The commission specifically cited CAIFC’s work through the Sanya Initiative.

Put simply — America’s most senior former military leaders spent years collaborating through a program organized with a Chinese military front that U.S. government investigators linked to intelligence gathering and foreign influence operations.

The CCP’s Influence Architecture

CUSEF supplied the funding and institutional cover.

The foundation was created by Tung Chee-hwa, a former chief executive of Hong Kong who later served as vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The CPPCC is a central part of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front system.

U.S. government reports describe the United Front as an influence apparatus designed to build relationships with foreign elites, suppress opposition to Beijing and induce influential outsiders to advance Chinese Communist Party objectives.

One congressional report described its mission as seeking to:

“Co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition.”

CUSEF heavily relies on the foreign influence tactic of “pay-for-play” trips, including paying and subsidizing journalists to travel to China in exchange for “favorable coverage.”

From Retired Generals To The State Department

The first Sanya Initiative gathering took place in China in 2008.

CUSEF’s annual report named the original American delegation:

• Bill Owens

• Ronald Fogleman

• Dennis Reimer

• Joseph Prueher

• Charles Wilhelm

• John Keane

Their Chinese counterparts included former senior PLA commanders such as Xiong Guangkai, Li Qianyuan, Yu Zhenwu, Pei Huailiang, Zhao Guojun and Zhu Wenquan.

The following year, the initiative moved beyond meetings among retired officers.

CUSEF brought the combined American and Chinese delegations through Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and New York.

According to the foundation’s own brochure, they met:

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen

• Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell

• Rep. Rick Larsen

• Rep. Mark Kirk

• Adm. Timothy Keating

• Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle

CUSEF published a photograph of the Chinese and American generals meeting Clinton in Washington.

Its report said the conversations ranged from nuclear proliferation and terrorism to “military educational exchange programs.”

This was no longer merely a discussion among retirees.

A program involving a Chinese military influence front had gained face-to-face access to the sitting secretary of state, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, members of Congress and senior officials responsible for U.S. policy in Asia.

The Network Becomes “Established”

The initiative continued growing.

In 2012, CUSEF supported a Sanya meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, with discussions at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Its brochure featured:

• PLA Gen. Li Qianyuan

• Rep. Rick Larsen

• Rep. Charles Boustany

• Adm. Bill Owens

CUSEF described the program as a series of annual informal dialogues intended to build “stronger personal relations” among retired military officials.

By 2013, the foundation was no longer describing Sanya as an experiment.

It called the program an:

“Established military-to-military exchange.”

That year, CUSEF published a photograph of Bill Owens and former Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace meeting Gen. Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission.

Xu was not simply another retired participant.

He occupied one of the highest positions in the Chinese military hierarchy, serving directly beneath Xi Jinping in the commission that controls the People’s Liberation Army.

Taiwan And The South China Sea

The meetings continued through 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Later American participants included former CENTCOM commander John Abizaid, former Army Chief of Staff Raymond Odierno, former Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert and former Pacific Command commander Timothy Keating.

The subjects were not ceremonial.

CUSEF’s own materials say the discussions addressed “high-risk issues” in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

At the 2019 meeting, Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, delivered a keynote address.

A photograph published by CUSEF shows the delegates standing beneath a banner reading:

“Sanya Initiative.”

The foundation described the program as a “unique” decade-long effort bringing retired American and Chinese military officials together to discuss issues affecting the bilateral military relationship.

By that point, the initiative had survived three American administrations while providing senior Chinese military figures with a recurring channel to retired U.S. officers who remained influential throughout Washington.

“We Wish You Would Advocate These Positions”

Congressional investigators had warned about the danger years earlier.

At a 2011 hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, testimony focused on the Chinese organizations and officials behind the Sanya Initiative.

One witness said the Chinese side’s intentions became clear in the initiative’s first report:

“The Chinese side says we wish you would advocate these positions.”

The witness said American editorials later appeared containing language with a:

“Stark similarity”

to the positions Chinese participants had urged the Americans to promote.

A commissioner responded:

“Sounds like it was a successful narrative that was placed.”

The Program Never Really Disappeared

CUSEF’s later materials show the operation continued after the original Sanya branding faded.

In its 2023 and 2024 reporting, the foundation described a “U.S.-China Military-to-Military Dialogue” involving retired American four-star generals and admirals meeting Chinese counterparts in an annual, closed-door setting.

The name changed.

The architecture remained.

The American Face Of The Initiative Went On To Represent Huawei

No American was more closely associated with the Sanya Initiative than retired Adm. William “Bill” Owens.

The former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff helped launch the dialogue in 2008 and remained its leading American participant for years.

As the military dialogue expanded, Owens was simultaneously building commercial ties with China.

In 2009, Owens became a consultant to Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company that was already facing scrutiny in Washington over national security concerns. He later founded Amerilink Telecom Corp., a Virginia-based company created to market Huawei equipment in the United States. According to the Financial Times, Huawei was Amerilink’s first customer, and Owens acknowledged he began consulting for the company before launching the venture.

Amerilink was not merely a reseller.

A U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission report found that the company worked as both a distributor and consultant for Huawei, helping the company pursue business in the United States. During Huawei’s effort to win part of Sprint Nextel’s network contract, Amerilink proposed serving as an intermediary that would address Washington’s security concerns by independently testing Huawei equipment and overseeing its deployment.

Sprint ultimately declined to use Huawei equipment after members of Congress and national security officials raised concerns about the Chinese company’s role in U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.

Owens continued publicly defending Huawei after the Sprint effort failed.

Speaking at a 2014 China conference, Owens said:

“I object to the way Huawei was treated in the United States because it’s unfair.”

He argued that American policy toward Huawei had been driven by politics rather than evidence.

His public advocacy extended beyond Huawei.

In November 2009, Owens authored an essay titled “America Must Start Treating China as a Friend.” In it, he argued that the United States should rethink its approach toward Beijing and questioned continued American arms sales to Taiwan, writing that Washington should reconsider policies that Chinese leaders viewed as hostile.

At the same time, Owens maintained a significant business presence in Asia.

He served as chairman and senior partner of AEA Investors Asia, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, and later led Red Bison Advisory Group, whose public materials described advising companies and developing partnerships involving enterprises in China.

The timeline places those activities alongside Owens’ leadership role in the Sanya Initiative.

How The Channel Expanded: A Timeline

• 2008: CUSEF launches the Sanya Initiative with former senior American and Chinese commanders.

• 2009: Delegates meet Hillary Clinton, Mike Mullen, Kurt Campbell and members of Congress.

• 2012: The dialogue reaches the U.S. Naval Academy and includes sitting lawmakers.

• 2013: CUSEF calls Sanya an “established military-to-military exchange” as Peter Pace and Bill Owens meet CMC Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang.

• 2015–2019: Annual closed-door sessions address Taiwan, the South China Sea, cybersecurity and military strategy.

• 2023–2024: The program reappears as the “U.S.-China Military-to-Military Dialogue.”