Moolenaar to Columbia University: Cut Ties with CCP-backed Exchange Programs

United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
November 6, 2025
Press Release

This week, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on China sent a letter to Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman demanding the university cut ties with CCP-tied exchange programs, including one co-sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF)—a group tied to the CCP's United Front system. A student group at the university is currently promoting a trip to China in January 2026, and the trip will be paid for by CUSEF.

"As the Select Committee and U.S. intelligence officials have warned in the past, CUSEF is an instrument of the CCP’s approach to political warfare, including influence operations intended to shape Americans’ views toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government," Moolenaar writes.

“In the interest of protecting students and the integrity of Columbia University’s programs, I urge you to immediately terminate any ties that the university or its student groups have with CUSEF and commit to a rigorous review of student groups’ foreign funding and partnerships going forward,” Moolenaar concludes.

The United Front has been described by the CCP as its "magic weapon." In 2023, the Select Committee authored United Front 101, a memo that detailed how the CCP uses the United Front and programs like CUSEF to extend its influence abroad.

“United front work is a unique blend of engagement, influence activities, and intelligence operations that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses to shape its political environment, including to influence other countries’ policy toward the PRC and to gain access to advanced foreign technology. It is carried out by an extensive and well-documented network of organizations operating in parallel to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) foreign ministry and intelligence services that seeks to influence universities, think tanks, civic groups, other prominent individuals and institutions, and public opinion broadly,” said the memo.

Read the full letter here.

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