Cozy ties between top Newsom ally and CCP official unearthed on networking site: 'She helped me a lot'

He's LinkedIn reveals that she has served in multiple roles at the Ministry of Commerce for over a decade and her profile boasts that she has "extensive connections with Chinese and U.S. governments" and "15+ years with a Chinese central government agency and 4 years as a diplomat in San Francisco."

One of the several companies discussed in the book was Suntech, a Chinese solar company developed by the CCP that was personally recruited by Newsom into the United States, and he publicly praised the company's CEO, Dr. Zhengrong Shi, multiple times, and made him an advisory board member for ChinaSF. 

"ChinaSF was started by our Lt Governor Gavin Newsom when he was Mayor of San Francisco in 2008," the photo caption said. "Proud to work with our partners and companies recruited to the SF Bay Area."

According to China Daily, a Chinese state media outlet, Newsom launched the group while visiting Shanghai.

"The two most important things for us are energy independence and establishing a stronger relationship with China," Newsom said ahead of the trip.

Bryant, who traveled with Newsom to China in 2005 when she was serving as his deputy communications director and would later be tapped to run ChinaSF, was repeatedly mentioned in a chapter in the new book, "Fool's Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All."

In the book, authors Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter make the case that ChinaSF served as a gateway for CCP officials and Chinese criminals to exploit California. In addition to the book exposing how Bryant was referred to locally as "the Fixer" for any Chinese businesses "wanting to make hay in San Francisco," her personal Facebook profile and other Facebook pages are littered with photos showing her involvement with ChinaSF. There are also several photos of her and Newsom, in addition to other California politicians.

"So good to see my ex boss now Governor of our Golden State of [California], [Gavin Newsom]," the post said. "As a visionary leader, he started [ChinaSF] in 2008 to be the China Desk for the city and county of [San Francisco] to facilitate inbound investment."

In addition to his controversial public statements, Ping would often travel to U.S. universities and other events, meeting with business leaders and elected officials, sparking concerns from some about potential influence peddling for the CCP.

"The Chinese Communist Party is playing for keeps at the nuclear level and every layer below that," Michael Sobolik, author of "Countering China's Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance," told Fox News Digital last year. "And it's not just the universities. The Chinese Communist Party is looking to infiltrate every aspect of American society."

"If we try to edit undo our way out of this whole list of infiltrations and threats that the CCP sends our direction that's good policy work. We need to insulate ourselves. But good housekeeping is the bare minimum of waging a cold war and winning a cold war," Sobolik added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bryant, but did not receive a response by press time.