Eric Swalwell campaign hit with renewed scrutiny over China-ties: ‘Once Again’

First on Fox: The campaign of Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., continues to be funded by Qiliang “Clay” Zhou despite concerns about his ties to China and the Chinese Communist Party.

Chu Donate another $25,000 to Swalwell’s campaign earlier this month after he had already donated $5,000 to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign in November and previously She donated more than $10,000 For his home campaigns.

Zhu is a partner at DeHeng Law Offices PC, a major law firm in Beijing with deep ties to… chinese communist party, She also donated thousands to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign. The law firm’s website shows that their only “Silicon Valley office,” located in Pleasanton, California, appears to have only one lawyer working there — Zhou, who has a history of fighting for Chinese interests in the United States.

“Once again, Congressman Swalwell has been caught with his hand in the Chinese Communist Party’s cookie jar,” said Michael Lucci, a leading China expert and founder and CEO of State Armor Action. “It is simply disgraceful that Congressman Swalwell would take more money from Qiliang Zhou after Zhou’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party were made public.”

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California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell waves before speaking at the 2026 California Democratic Party state convention in San Francisco, Saturday, February 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Fox News Digital Review January open The law firm Zhu is a partner in it It was established as the Chinese Law Bureauwhich was a subsidiary established by the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Justice in the early 1990s before being renamed DeHeng Law Offices in 1995.

While the company, which has more than two dozen offices in China, portrays itself as independent, the firm and its lawyers continue to long-time collaborations with Chinese government departments and major state-owned companies. Many of the firm’s China-based lawyers also have a history of working in Chinese politics.

Zhou, who is originally from China, gives several examples of how he has helped Chinese state-owned enterprises and other Chinese companies gain a foothold in the United States. According to his biography on the law firm’s website.

For example, he touts representing “an investment fund of a major state-owned enterprise in the acquisition of a majority stake in a Silicon Valley data analytics software company,” valued at $100 million. Another biography of Zhu follows suit How he “helped Chinese companies and funds complete more than $9 billion in investments in chips, unmanned vehicles, new energy, artificial intelligence, industrial automation, and biopharmaceuticals in the United States.”

“On behalf of Chinese companies, he has negotiated with the US Department of Commerce, the US Department of the Treasury and other organizations several times and achieved compliance plans, greatly reducing the compliance risks for Chinese customers in the United States,” the biography continued.

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The biography also notes that Zhu helped advise “a Shenzhen government investment fund on its compliance with U.S. CFIUS regulations” and represented “WeChat users in a landmark lawsuit that sued President Trump and successfully halted a WeChat ban in 2020.”

At the time, the first Trump administration Sound the alarm Via WeChat, he said that “the data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans’ personal information and property” and expressed concern that the Chinese Communist Party would use the data to go after dissidents or control messaging within the United States, such as launching disinformation campaigns. Similar efforts have been made to restrict WeChat in countries such as Australia and India, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to stop a Texas law prohibiting Chinese citizens from owning or renting land in the state, Chu called the legislation “unjust, unconstitutional and un-American,” according to AsAmNews, a daily news site focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Zhou likewise expressed his dissatisfaction with Florida The law aims to prevent individuals from countries considered foreign enemies of the United States, such as China, from purchasing land.

Chinese land grabs in the United States have been an ongoing concern for lawmakers. Currently, Congress is considering several bills related to this issue, while nearly two dozen states have already passed legislation to implement changes around foreign land purchases in their states. (Getty Images)

Other DeHeng Law Office lawyers based in China have a history of working in Chinese politics as well. This has been done largely through the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a “key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation” under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference website, and a crucial instrument of the united front strategy to influence US policy.

For example, Zhixu Wu, who is the “Director and Senior Partner” of the Kunming law office of DeHeng Law Offices in China, is a member of the “Standing Committee of the 13th Kunming Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference” and a member of the “12th Yunnan Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference”. His biography also says that previously in 2017 he was awarded the “Title of ‘Excellent Association Member’ of the Second Assistance Event of the National Lawyers Service Group”, which was approved by the “Eighth Bureau of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Guidance Department of Lawyers’ Documentation Work of the Ministry of Justice.”

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Swalwell’s ties to China have come under scrutiny before, especially after Chinese national Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” gained special access to him and his campaign. US officials have viewed it as part of China-linked counterintelligence efforts aimed at influencing and cozying up to US political figures.

Swalwell repeatedly claimed that he cut ties once US intelligence officials warned him of the threat, and a congressional ethics investigation into the matter eventually found no wrongdoing on Swalwell’s behalf. However, he was eventually removed by Republicans from his position on the House Intelligence Committee, with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy citing Swalwell’s previous encounter with a suspected Chinese spy.

Fox News Digital revealed A Previously unreported Facebook post from 2013 From China’s consulate in San Francisco last month, Swalwell was shown touting “great potential” for U.S.-China cooperation during a meeting with a top Chinese Communist Party diplomat early in his career, which came during the same time period that Swalwell was allegedly targeted by Chinese espionage efforts.

The Facebook post was also “liked” by Fang Fang, a Fox News Digital review found.

Then-freshman Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, is shown in a photo with Song Ruan, deputy consul general at the Chinese Bay Area consulate in San Francisco, in 2013. (Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco)

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“First, Swalwell had a fiery romance with Fang Fang, a honeypot for the Chinese Communist Party. Then he was caught taking campaign money from China’s favorite big law firm. Congressman Swalwell is either completely oblivious to the dangers of courting Chinese Communist Party operatives, or he doesn’t care and is going to take a check from Xi Jinping himself,” Lucci told Fox News Digital. “Congress must pass a law banning campaign money from Communist China before Swalwell’s penchant drives him away.” “With sweets to look for another bowl of honey or another bowl of cake for the Chinese Communist Party.”

Neither the Swalwell campaign, DeHeng Law Offices, nor Zhu responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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