Biden State Department Nominee Is a Defender of China Propaganda Program

A top State Department nominee is a defender of the Confucius Institute, a Chinese government program that disseminates pro-Beijing propaganda on American college campuses.

Victoria Nuland, President Biden's choice for undersecretary of state for political affairs, voiced support for the expansion of the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institute at American universities in a 2012 press conference. Nuland, then an Obama administration spokeswoman, praised the campus institutes as a crucial part of "people-to-people exchange" between the two superpowers, dismissing concerns about Chinese ambition.

A reporter asked Nuland if the Obama administration was concerned about "the Confucius Institute's expansion in the U.S. as the strongest Chinese soft power?"

"No," Nuland responded. "This [Confucius Institute] is something that we support. It's part of the people-to-people understanding."

The Confucius Institute quickly expanded its influence during the Obama era, establishing itself at more than 100 American universities and colleges during its peak in 2017, despite warnings about the Chinese Communist Party's influence. Several government reports found the Chinese government exercised high degrees of control over campus institutes, barring their instructors from teaching taboo topics such as Tibet or Hong Kong. Frequently, instructors were contractually obligated to follow Chinese law even when teaching on American soil.

Nuland's sympathetic comments about the Confucius Institute could ruffle feathers in the Senate, which will decide whether to confirm the former diplomat to the third-highest position in the State Department. Republican senators have demanded answers from multiple Biden nominees for China-friendly comments or business deals in the authoritarian country.

"Any nominee who has spoken in favor of Confucius Institutes is extremely concerning," said a spokesman for Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.). "We cannot have individuals who are either naïve to—or even sympathize with—the threat that Beijing poses in top national security positions."

Nuland's comments are emblematic of the Obama administration's welcoming approach to the Beijing-backed institutes.