On Monday, members of the Chinese government met with California officials to discuss, behind closed doors, trade cooperation between that state and our greatest geopolitical adversary.

This meeting coincided with the China-California Business Forum, which is put on every year by the Chinese consulate. There seems to be a China-[insert your name here] Business Forum for most every state, which makes some sense since so many of the things we buy are made in China. However, this closed-door meeting with the Newsom administration seems a little more ominous.

Recall that last year, Chinese President dictator Xi Jinping visited California during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Xi has only visited the U.S. twice since ascending to his country’s highest position of power.

Also recall that Governor Gavin Newsom magically cleaned up California’s homelessness blight — but only in deference to this foreign dignitary’s visit. The horrible realities of homelessness in California, as well as the crime and suffering that come with it, came right back after the Chinese dictator left.

Now, here we are again with more evidence of Chinese sympathies from the governor.

Newsom is widely known to have presidential ambitions and has been going to great lengths to rebrand himself as a “reasonable” leftist or a more moderate option for a Democrat Party that is in disarray. He has talked to conservatives, admitted that allowing boys in girls’ sports is “deeply unfair,” and backtracked on his destructive stance on California oil refineries.

These all sound much more reasonable to the gullible Democrat or independent voter, but they are ploys to get votes. Newsom has been in the governor’s mansion since 2019, and after overseeing the state’s further decline, he now says he’ll do something to turn it around.

Michael Lucci, founder of the counter-Beijing advocacy group State Armor, recently noted: “Governor Newsom has earned the pole position as Xi Jinping’s leading man in the United States. California’s leadership undermines America’s broader national security by prioritizing engagement with Chinese entities that are back-stopped by China’s military, intelligence, and influence networks over building resilient supply chains with American treaty allies. It’s unfathomable how California imagines it upholds liberal values by engaging a regime involved in genocide, environmental degradation, party state, ethnocentrism, and general belligerence around the globe.”

To this accusation, one might say: Follow the money. If Governor Newsom is in the pocket of the Chinese Communist Party, there will be evidence of that in the form of money and favors.