Pin Ni, an automobile executive identified in corporate documents as a member of the Chinese Communist Party, has donated roughly $45,000 to support New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
The donations Pin made to support Sherrill span across her career in Congress and her current bid for New Jersey governor. In February, Pin cut a $30,000 check to One Giant Leap PAC, the super PAC supporting Sherril’s bid for the governor’s mansion, campaign finance records show. Between February 2022 and September 2024, meanwhile, Sherrill accepted $14,500 in donations from Pin through her congressional campaign account.
Pin sits on the board of directors for the Wanxiang Group, one of the world’s largest automotive components manufacturers, and is the president of the conglomerate’s American branch. During his tenure at the company, Pin has been recognized as an “outstanding Communist Party Member” 15 times and has taken on leadership roles at nonprofit organizations, such as the US-China Strong Foundation and the China General Chamber of Commerce, that outside observers have accused of working on behalf of the CCP.
Lu Guanqiu, the founder of Wanxiang Group and Pin’s late father-in-law, received praise directly from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said that his company is “in line with the Party Central Committee” and that he “always actively does what our Party committees and governments at all levels advocate.”
Guanqiu’s son, Lu Weiding, took over the company after his father’s death in 2021.
New Jersey campaign finance records show that Lu donated $5,800 to Sherrill’s gubernatorial campaign in November 2024.
“Everyone here is a Communist Party member,” Lu said in a 2018 speech, which honored the 97th anniversary of the CCP. “Wanxiang’s hallmark is to promote cadres from among its members and recruit party members from among its cadres. … A towering tree must have its roots; a stream flowing through a mountain must have its source.”
Sherrill is the second Democrat running in a competitive governor’s race who counts Pin as a financial backer.
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Abigail Spanberger received $50,000 in donations from Pin to support her campaign, the Washington Free Beacon reported in August. Additionally, federal campaign finance records reveal that Pin and Lu are massive donors to candidates and political committees across the country — primarily Democrats, but with some smaller contributions earmarked for Republicans. Examples include former President Joe Biden, the nonprofit group that put on the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
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The donations made by Pin have raised legal concerns among some experts.
Chinese law, for instance, typically forbids members of the CCP from holding foreign citizenship or permanent residency. To make campaign contributions, people must either be green card holders or citizens of the United States.
“It’s bad enough if Spanberger is taking illegal campaign donations from a foreign source, but outrageous that it’s from a member of the Chinese Communist Party,” National Legal and Policy Center counsel Paul Kamenar told the Washington Free Beacon in reference to its reporting on Spanberger, noting that the group would file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.
Sherrill is a longtime supporter of policies favoring electric vehicles. Those same policies could be beneficial for Wanxiang Group’s bottom line. Recent polling indicates that, despite New Jersey’s historically Democratic leanings, Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli is locked in a statistical tie with Sherrill as controversies mount for the Democrat.
The Sherrill campaign did not respond to a request for comment.