Democratic Socialist allies of New York City’s new mayor, Commie Mamdani, as he’s known, are working to cozy up to the Chinese Communist Party. This might have been predicted.
We need not predict anymore because Newsweek has a report based on the records of internal DSA meetings, all about “How Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists Sought Ties With Chinese Officials” (January 20, 2026).
Members of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists of America have been cultivating ties with officials of the Chinese Communist Party and agreeing to take pro-China positions, according to extensive minutes of internal meetings seen by Newsweek.
The minutes of the DSA meetings show participants discussing contacts with officials from China’s ruling party in the name of “anti-imperialism,” with some members saying the organization should avoid topics that are sensitive for Beijing, such as China’s threats to invade Taiwan, its security crackdown in Hong Kong and abuses of the Uyghur Muslim minority. They also discuss visits to China. Chinese officials did not take part in the meetings themselves but met with members in China and encouraged the DSA to set up exchanges, according to the minutes….
Mamdani was not recorded as being present at any of the meetings minuted. Although Mamdani has been a longstanding member of the Democratic Socialists, he has distanced himself from elements of the group’s national platform. He has also not made extensive public comments on China.
So is this report just about the Democratic Socialists of America, nothing to do with Mamdani, since he was not at the meetings and as a politician would like to “distance himself” from the presumably most kooky parts of the DSA platform?
While the minutes of the DSA meetings do not indicate any wrongdoing, they do raise new questions over the extent of Chinese influence within the group and more broadly in the United States. They are also an indicator of how China’s Communist Party seeks to build ties with influential political groupings in the United States. The DSA’s website describes the group’s New York chapter as “Zohran’s political home” and says his victory would not have been possible without it….
On June 12, 2023, the minutes show that Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans briefed the Democratic Socialists on her organization’s “China Is Not Our Enemy” (CINOE) campaign and advised the group: “Stay out of the weeds. Focus on points that are easier to sell.” One of those is poverty alleviation programs in China, with the minutes showing the DSA group planning events to communicate that in the United States. Code Pink did not respond to a request for comment.
If the DSA masters the Code Pink approach to spreading the good word about the Chinese Communist Party, referring only to “points that are easier to sell,” it will be promoting an organization that doesn’t exist.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC, was something like diplomatic when Newsweek asked him about prospective interplexing of the DSA, Mamdani’s administration, and the CCP.
“Local exchanges and cooperation are the important component of China-U.S. relations, serving as the foundation, vitality, and source of strength for the relations between the two countries,” Liu said. Which is less off-putting than “Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”
As the saying goes, all influence operations are local.
Also see:
The Free Press: “How New York Became a Hotbed of Chinese Meddling”
