Thread: China hires Washington lobbyists

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business ... -headlines

China hires Washington lobbyists

Michael Forsythe
Bloomberg News

August 20, 2005

The Chinese government had hired Patton Boggs LLP, the biggest Washington lobby firm, to give it advice about Congress, according to a federal disclosure.

The Chinese embassy in Washington will pay Patton Boggs $22,000 a month, according to contract papers filed with the U.S. Justice Department. China hired Patton Boggs in July, before congressional pressure helped scuttle an $18.5 billion bid by Beijing-based CNOOC Ltd., an oil producer, to buy Unocal Corp. of El Segundo, Calif.

Mark Cowan, Robert Horn and Timothy Chorba, a former U.S. ambassador to Singapore, will lead Patton Boggs' work with the embassy. Cowan is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer and Horn is chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association, according to their biographies on the Patton Boggs Web site.

The filing didn't indicate whether Patton Boggs would lobby Congress on behalf of the Chinese government. U.S. groups that work for foreign governments must register with the Justice Department as foreign agents.

Chu Maoming, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy, was traveling Friday and not available to comment.

Brian Hale, a spokesman for Patton Boggs, said the company had been hired to provide "counsel" for the embassy.

Unocal agreed earlier this month to merge with Chevorn Corp. in a $17.8 billion deal.

Hell no!

W