The parent company of China-based online marketplace Temu employs a large number of former Chinese Communist Party officials among its executives, posing serious national security risks, experts told The Washington Post.
Amazon competitor Temu is expanding aggressively into the US.
Its parent company, Shanghai-based Pinduoduo (PDD), is listed on the Nasdaq and currently has a market capitalization of around $200 billion.
The company’s top leaders include Xu Mintao, a former senior official and public relations director at the State Administration for Market Regulation, and Zhou Qingtian, a former deputy director of the supervision department at the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation and public relations executive.
Public Relations Director Guo Hua was previously deputy director of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Administration.
Hu Qida and Tong Lei, both former judges of the Shanghai People’s Court, have been appointed heads of the PDD’s legal department.
PDD Vice President Zhou Qingtian is a former official at the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce.
| name | Current position at Pinduoduo | Previous Positions |
| Wen Xue | Vice President of Pinduoduo | Former inspector of the Advertising Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation |
| Xu Min Tao | Director of Government Communications, Pinduoduo | Former Deputy Director of the Regulation Department of the Shanghai Municipal Market Regulatory Bureau |
| Zhou Qingtian | Vice President of Pinduoduo | Former Deputy Director of the Airport Branch of the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce |
| Guo Hua | Senior Director of Public Relations, Pinduoduo | Former Deputy Director of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Administration |
| Wang Jian | Senior Vice President, Pinduoduo | Former member of the Judicial Committee of the No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court of Shanghai |
| Zhangjiang Province | Legal Director, Pinduoduo | Former Deputy Director of the Civil Division of the Beijing Haidian District Court |
| Hu Qida | Legal Director, Pinduoduo | Former Judge of the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court |
| Tong Lei | Legal Director, Pinduoduo | Former Judge of Shanghai Jing’an District Court |
| Jiang Young Cai | Head of Communications, Pinduoduo | Former Director of Party and Political Affairs of the Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office |
| Dai Zhihui | Vice President of Pinduoduo | Former Vice Director of the Information Technology Department (Data Center) of the China National Internet Finance Association |
| Zhu Zheng | Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Pinduoduo | He previously worked for the Ministry of Commerce and was stationed in the Economic and Commercial Department of Chinese Embassies overseas. |
| Song Yue | Director of Public Relations and Policy, Pinduoduo | Former Deputy Director of the Anti-Monopoly and Unfair Competition Bureau of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce |
Tem, which ran six ads during and after this year’s Super Bowl, is growing in influence in the United States, alarming lawmakers in Washington who worry the vast amounts of data the company holds on U.S. consumers pose a national security threat.
In April, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called on the Biden administration to investigate the company over concerns about intellectual property theft and the use of slave labor.
Cotton told The Washington Post that he wants the site banned in the US.
“Chinese tech companies across the board are under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, and PDD Holdings is no exception. PDD’s subsidiary Temu should not be allowed access to the U.S. market,” Cotton told the Post.
Names and biographies of PDD leaders First published on Kejixun.comThe link was published on Chinese-language news site “. The link was removed shortly after The Washington Post contacted Temu and PDD.
“If this leak is accurate, it clearly shows that there are many connections between the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies, even those that are nominally private like Pinduoduo,” said Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of China-focused data firm Strategy Risks.
