From University of Penn disclosures.
Interesting. Looks like there's meat on that bone but the question of intent and effect is uncertain.
What I shot through:
United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
oversight.house.gov
6 years old but interesting, looks like a lot of foreign donations:
Department of Education officials are cracking down on how schools report funds they receive from foreign sources.
www.inquirer.com
From tree years ago:
From the newsweek article:
Again, in a technical sense, since UPenn has received money from China (which may contribute toward the cost of running the Penn Biden Center), the Penn Biden Center may indeed be, in some way, "China-funded".
The problem is we don't know if that's the case and Trump nor others have provided evidence on that point.
Therefore, from what we know about the number of donations that the university received from donors globally, the restrictions on donations, and the fraction that these donations make of UPenn's total revenue, it's misleading at this stage (without additional evidence) to conclude that the Penn Biden Center is, as Trump claims, truly "China-funded" or that this funding influenced the Biden administration.
Republicans, including Trump and Comer, are not the only critics of the president's handling of classified documents with Democratic Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) recently adding their concerns publicly.
Durbin called the situation "unacceptable" while Manchin said "it was irresponsible" and that Biden "should have a lot of regrets".
Newsweek has contacted the White House, the Penn Biden Center, and Donald Trump for comment.
The Ruling
Unverified.
Evidence shows the University of Pennsylvania has received donations from China. However, the claim that the Penn Biden Center is directly Chinese-funded is somewhat misleading. The Center is paid for by the university, of which funding from donors makes a fraction of total contributions, and donations from China are an even smaller fraction of that. Currently, there is no public evidence that the Penn Biden Center is directly funded by donations from China to the University of Pennsylvania. Therefore, at present, we rate this claim as Unverified.
AI overview with the following prompt: is there evidence that china donated to the university of penn to influence biden
There is
no direct evidence that China donated to the University of Pennsylvania specifically to influence Joe Biden, but
multiple investigations and reports have raised concerns about potential foreign influence due to the timing and scale of donations.
Key Findings:
- Surge in Chinese Donations:
After the Penn Biden Center was announced in 2017, donations from Chinese sources tripled, with $61 million received between 2017 and 2020. An additional $25 million came from China between 2022 and 2023, including $14 million from anonymous donors in China and Hong Kong after Biden became president.
- Ties to Chinese Communist Party (CCP):
Some donors have direct links to the CCP:
- Kathy Xu, who donated $10 million in 2022, founded Capital Today, an early investor in Meituan Dianping, a company with CCP ties.
- Chung-nin Rock Chen, a donor of $205,000, is a member of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), both key CCP-affiliated bodies.
- Congressional Investigations:
The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, has investigated whether anonymous Chinese donations could have influenced Biden administration policies. The probe focuses on:
- The timing of donations coinciding with Biden’s political activity.
- Whether classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center were accessible to individuals with foreign ties.
- Concerns that the center acted as a “foreign-sponsored source of income” for future Biden administration officials.
- University’s Response:
Penn maintains that:
- The Penn Biden Center itself received only $1,100 in unsolicited donations (from American donors).
- 100% of the center’s funding comes from university funds, not foreign gifts.
- All foreign donations are reported to the U.S. Department of Education under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.
- Criticism and Concerns:
Watchdog groups and lawmakers argue that even if funds were not directly given to the Biden Center, large donations to Penn Global—a broader international initiative that includes the center—could indirectly influence policy. Critics suggest this may represent soft power influence by the Chinese government.
Another prompt: was biden favorable to china
Joe Biden’s stance toward China has evolved significantly over time, shifting from engagement and optimism to a competitive and confrontational approach.
As vice president under Obama, Biden expressed positive views about China’s rise, calling it a “positive development” for the world and advocating for deeper U.S.-China cooperation on global challenges. He supported economic engagement, including backing China’s trade status, based on the belief that greater integration would lead China to adopt international norms.
However, as president, Biden’s policy has marked a sharp departure. He now views China as a strategic competitor, if not a threat, and has maintained and even intensified many of the tough policies initiated under Trump. His administration has emphasized alliances, export controls, tariffs, and domestic investment to counter China’s growing influence.
Biden has publicly called out China’s “unfair economic practices,” labeled President Xi Jinping a “thug,” and boasted of “checkmating China” in the Pacific through strengthened alliances like AUKUS. While he acknowledges areas for potential cooperation—such as climate change and nuclear nonproliferation—his overall posture is one of strategic competition rather than favorability.
Thus, while Biden was once seen as favorable to engagement with China, his presidential record shows he is not favorable to China’s ambitions, particularly on economic, technological, and geopolitical fronts.
My takeaway: Who knows. I remember Corn Pop being more hawkish toward China though I wasn't paying full attention. He seemed to actually expand on Trump's treatment toward what with increasing the tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100% and not rolling back anything Trump did on that front to my knowledge. If the university money was a bribe, as suggested, it didn't seem to have worked.
Again though, I must stress, Trump pissing off our allies and showing us to be unstable and unreliable is pushing other countries closer to China, including our allies.
