When Xi Jinping became chairman of everything in China's governing structure, one of the first things he did was significantly increase the funding of the United Front Work Department — which handles the Chinese Communist Party's intelligence and influence operations.
Xi elevated its status within the party's hierarchy and expanded its mandate for the first time to include foreign operations. The UFWD became one of the key coordinators of the CCP's efforts to influence foreign governments through the use of elite capture, misinformation, illegal political funding and foreign media control.
It also leverages the Chinese diaspora to influence elections and policies around the world and to counter voices from Tibet, Hong Kong, the Uyghurs in Western China, Taiwan and any other groups critical of the CCP.
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