In late July 2026 White House correspondent and War Room co-host Natalie Winters published an investigative report detailing how a Chinese Communist Party linked organization funded trips for prominent American journalists with the explicit goal of generating favorable coverage of Beijing. Drawing on foreign agent registration filings, program rosters, and related documents, Winters identified participants from major outlets including The New York Times, CNN, NPR, Vox, and others.
The key entity is the China United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), founded by Tung Chee hwa, a former vice chairman of a body tied to the CCP’s United Front Work Department. Filings by CUSEF’s US lobbying firm described the purpose of familiarization trips as developing favorable coverage in key national media and disseminating positive messages about China. Journalists were selected partly for their potential to produce such coverage. Participants received all expenses paid travel, tours (sometimes including sensitive sites), and briefings.
Winters named figures such as Ezra Klein (New York Times columnist and former Vox co founder), Matthew Yglesias (Vox co founder), Ronald Brownstein (CNN senior political analyst), Bradford Plumer (New York Times), Catherine Rampell, David Rohde, and others from The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and additional outlets. Some trips dated to the 2010s.
She also highlighted a separate Committee of 100 (C100) program, praised by Xi Jinping, that flew elite journalists and opinion leaders to China with the stated aim of improving perceptions of the country. Internal assessments claimed success in shifting views. Winters connected several participants’ subsequent work to criticism of US policy toward China, particularly under President Trump. Examples included columns opposing trade confrontation or decoupling, pieces framing American approaches as zero sum or aggressive, and reporting that amplified Chinese perspectives.
One participant published “China Bashing is for Losers.” Filings and internal documents, she argued, show the trips were designed as influence operations rather than neutral cultural exchanges. The revelations, amplified on X and covered by outlets such as IBTimes UK, raised questions about transparency, conflicts of interest, and foreign influence in American media. Critics noted that accepting funded junkets from entities with clear propaganda goals can shape narratives, even without direct cash payments for specific stories.
Defenders of the journalists might argue the trips provided legitimate access and that coverage reflected independent judgment. Winters, who reported traveling to Hong Kong at her own expense to pursue the story, framed the findings as evidence of systematic efforts to soften US media scrutiny of Beijing while undercutting hardline American policies. The episode underscores ongoing concerns about CCP United Front activities in the United States and the need for clearer disclosure when journalists accept foreign funded travel.
