This account describes how Chinese influence quietly penetrates Washington’s think tanks and policy circles. Through fluent English speakers educated in elite U.S. institutions, former officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations, and carefully cultivated personal relationships, China creates an atmosphere of trust and goodwill. These individuals often appear talented, attractive, and entirely sincere, making it difficult to suspect ill intent. Yet behind this surface lies a system of deep background research, long-term relationship management, and strategic influence conducted by the Chinese Communist Party. What looks like friendship can become a powerful mechanism of persuasion.

For example, even in Washington—there are think tanks like Brookings and CSIS, right?

I was the bureau chief at the time, so I would receive invitation cards. There were breakfast meetings, receptions at bars. If I declined, they would say that the next bureau chief would stop being invited, so even when I was exhausted and nursing a hangover, I would force myself to go.

Chinese people are there.

Chinese individuals born and raised in the United States, native English speakers.

They would say, “Nice to meet you,” and there would be professors from those think tanks—people who had served as acting deputy assistant secretaries or similar positions during Republican or Democratic administrations.

They all get along very well.

They are all good people. Beautiful women, handsome men.

They graduated from American graduate schools, hold PhDs, and appear quite impressive.

You exchange pleasantries, apologize for not remembering names properly—but truly, you get drawn in. You think, “There’s no way such nice people could be plotting anything bad.”

I don’t think so myself.

If something two orders of magnitude larger came along, who knows? That’s a joke, of course.

But seriously, people are being drawn in. Of course they are—after all, they’re human. And they even trace your ancestry.

They operate like public security or foreign intelligence police.

Take, for example, the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China in 1972, when Kakuei Tanaka stayed for four or five nights.

There is a famous story from that time. When he sat down for breakfast, there was white rice and miso soup. That miso soup tasted exactly like the miso soup he ate at his family home in Niigata.

People say, “They were so considerate.” But what that really means is that they had already arranged for personal information to leak to that extent.

That is the kind of thing China does.

The Communist Party does.

Once they get you, even someone like Mr. Iwaya would fall instantly. A rural politician wouldn’t stand a chance.

“And as for Mr. Katsuya Okada—well, Mr. Okada is easy to understand, given Aeon.”

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