Hunter Biden hired Chinese government researcher JiaQi Bao as he was launching his cooperation with the Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC, a book by Peter Schweizer titled "Red Handed" claims, citing the emails leaked from the alleged laptop of the president's son. Bao reportedly became Biden's secretary at the same time as he started working with CEFC's Secretary General Patrick Ho in 2017 - a Chinese businessman believed to have had connections in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In the past, Bao worked as a research assistant at the state-controlled Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. She later worked for the OneGate Capital investment firm also alleged to have ties to the CPP, Schweizer claims in his book.
Over time, Biden and his new secretary developed close relations, with the president's son consulting her on a whole array of questions, ranging from "energy deals to his father’s presidential campaign", Schweizer said in his book, citing insights from the emails.
Hunter Biden's Deals With Chinese Businesses
The emails cited in the book come from hard drive data extracted from a laptop that was allegedly dropped off at a repair shop in Delaware by Hunter Biden and never recovered. The owner of the shop eventually handed over the hard drive to the FBI and a copy of it ended up in the hands of the press.
The laptop (later dubbed a "laptop from hell") data leak led to a series of damning articles in the media (despite being largely ignored by mainstream editions) exposing the alleged questionable business dealings of Hunter Biden. It shed light on a purported agreement with CEFC that promised Biden several million dollars per year for "introductions" in high circles alone.
It also reportedly involved opening a joint venture in which Hunter Biden would hold two stakes – one for himself and one for the enigmatic "Big Guy". Several media outlets alleged that the second stake was meant for Joe Biden.
CEFC's Secretary General Patrick Ho was eventually arrested by the FBI and convicted on bribery charges in the US. He was accused of offering $2 million disguised as donations to the president of Chad in exchange for oil drilling rights. Schweizer, however, claims in his book that Ho's operation was larger in scale and involved plans to channel bribes to UN diplomats "via a network of middlemen, millionaires and suspected spies".