The Scottish Mail on Sunday

How Prince made eight visits to China – as guest of its propaganda unit

- By Jake Ryan and Luke McWilliams

PRINCE ANDREW made eight trips to China as a guest of an organisati­on accused of being a puppet for the Chinese Communist Party’s feared intelligen­ce agency.

During the visits – most made on behalf of his Pitch@Palace business mentoring initiative – the Duke of York heralded closer UK-China co-operation, prompting critics to this weekend accuse him of being a ‘useful idiot’ for Beijing.

The visits, made between 2010 and 2019, were at the invitation of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA).

It is alleged the group answers to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the Communist regime’s intelligen­ce and propaganda unit. This month, MI5 said the UFWD was involved in ‘foreign interferen­ce’ and was seeking to ‘corrupt and coerce’ British politician­s.

Senior Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘It is unfortunat­e that Prince Andrew appears to have been used this way.’ Questionin­g the advice provided to the Prince by the security services, he added: ‘Did they advise him of the dangers in dealing with these organisati­ons and, if not, why not? If they didn’t, this is a second failing of them after not gripping the original infiltrati­on of Westminste­r.’ When Prince Andrew’s trips began in 2010, UK relations with China were warm. But by 2016, British policy had started to shift amid troubling reports of the repression of the Muslim Uighur minority and crackdowns on pro-democracy campaigner­s. Despite that, Andrew made five visits between 2016 and 2019 on behalf of Pitch@Palace, the Dragons’ Denstyle company he establishe­d after losing his UK trade envoy role because of his friendship with US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

As recently as December 2020, Andrew wrote to CPIFA to apologise for not being able to visit.

During a visit in May 2018, the Duke reportedly extolled the virtues of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The policy, which sees China build infrastruc­ture projects in developing countries, has been criticised because the regime can seize assets in the event of a debt default or exert influence over these countries.

Later that year, the Duke unveiled the multiple-language editions of President Xi’s propaganda book, The Governance Of China, at an event in London.

Mareike Ohlberg, co-author of Hidden Hand, a book that details the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to influence opinion overseas, said: ‘Prince Andrew is a classic “useful idiot” and seemingly allows himself to be used.’

US think-tanks the Hoover Institutio­n and the Asia Society have both accused CPIFA of being a part of the broader United Front work groups that seek to influence foreign elites.

It is understood the Prince’s visits were funded by Pitch@Palace, which establishe­d a Chinese arm in 2016. The Royal Court Circular lists his visits to China but does not mention CPIFA or its invitation­s.

The UK arm of Pitch@Palace is to be wound up in the wake of Andrew stepping back from Royal duties, but it is believed its global operations will continue.

Last night, a source close to the Duke said: ‘Any foreign dignitary would always be hosted by the CPIFA.

‘The Duke was in attendance on behalf of Pitch@Palace Global.’

The Chinese Embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment.

 ?? ?? ‘USEFUL IDIOT’: Prince Andrew meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on visit to Beijing in May 2018
‘USEFUL IDIOT’: Prince Andrew meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on visit to Beijing in May 2018

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