Why is Beijing interested in a mid-level government aide in New York State?

BANGKOK (AP) — The decision by New York prosecutors to charge a former aide to the New York governor this week with acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government has raised concerns about China’s efforts to influence U.S. politics.

Linda Sun held numerous roles in New York state government, including deputy chief of staff for Gov. Kathy Hochul. She is accused of pushing Chinese interests at state functions, including allegedly blocking representatives from Taiwan from meeting the governor, in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars.

Sun’s arrest on Tuesday is the latest, and perhaps most high profile, in a series of cases the U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted in recent years to root out Beijing’s agents on U.S. soil.

While previous cases involved charges against suspected Chinese spies for reporting on and surveilling dissidents critical of the Communist Party, Tuesday’s case appeared to show how China is trying to directly influence U.S. politics in line with its interests, even at the local level.

WHY STATE LEVEL?

China sees it as important to cultivate state-level relationships with U.S. officials, and has always done so.

Although the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and China has become increasingly tense, the two countries had cultivated extensive regional-level ties in the 2010s, with U.S. governors frequently visiting China to boost trade and cultural ties.

That’s taken a sharp 180-degree turn in recent years, as the U.S. government’s relationship with China grows more confrontational and being tough on China has become a bipartisan point of consensus. The White House and Congress are leveling high tariffs on Chinese products and limiting export of high-tech products to China.