California Governor Gavin Newsom Received $50K in Campaign Donations from Executive at Firm Now Blacklisted by Pentagon

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) accepted $50,000 in campaign contributions from a Chinese electric vehicle executive whose company was designated as a Chinese military firm by the Pentagon this week. Li Ke, executive vice president of BYD Company and president of BYD Americas, donated $20,000 to Newsom's 2018 gubernatorial campaign and $30,000 to his 2022 reelection bid, according to California campaign finance disclosures. This exceeds all other contributions Li has made to California candidates combined.

The Pentagon's classification of BYD as a Chinese military company places it on a list first created in 2021 of firms deemed to support Beijing's military modernization through private-sector technology. Experts have long warned about BYD's ties to China's government, including its role in the Chinese Communist Party's "Made in China 2025" initiative to dominate global electric vehicle supply chains. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has documented how Chinese state subsidies and military research collaborations have fueled BYD's growth into the world's largest EV manufacturer.

Newsom's administration has awarded BYD multiple contracts since 2018, including a $1 billion no-bid deal for COVID-19 masks and a separate agreement to supply electric buses. The mask contract faced criticism after BYD missed delivery deadlines and failed initial federal certification reviews. In 2020, California selected BYD for a contract to provide electric buses as part of its decarbonization efforts, despite federal restrictions on funding for buses made by Chinese-linked companies.

"China's always looking for a weak link and I think that they found a weak link in Governor Newsom," said Joseph Cella, former U.S. ambassador and president of the Secure Our States Coalition. "The Department of Defense has blacklisted BYD for a reason, it means there is a threat to U.S. national security." Newsom's office and BYD did not respond to requests for comment.

BYD, which does not sell consumer EVs in the U.S., operates an electric bus manufacturing facility in Southern California. The company's products often contain components from Chinese state-owned entities, according to a 2019 report by the research firm Radarlock. Lawmakers have criticized Newsom for defending BYD after Congress blocked California's EV mandate, with the governor arguing the policy would prevent the company from selling vehicles in America due to their foreign production.