Tech

Temu parent company led by top former Chinese Communist officials

The parent company of China-based online marketplace Temu employs a bevy of former Chinese Communist Party officials among their top executives — raising serious national security risks, experts told The Post.

Temu, a competitor to Amazon, has made aggressive inroads into the US.

Its parent company, the Shanghai-based Pinduoduo (PDD) is listed on the Nasdaq and has a current market capitalization of almost $200 billion.

The Chinese-owned Temu has rapidly become a major competitor to Amazon. NurPhoto via Getty Images

Among the company’s top leaders are Xu Mintao, a director of public relations, who was previously a senior official in the State Administration for Market Regulation; and Zhou Qingtian, a public relations executive who is former deputy director of the Regulation Department of the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation.

Guo Hua, a director of public affairs, previously served as deputy director of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office.

Hu Qida and Tong Lei — both former judges of the People’s Court of Shanghai — were named as PDD directors of legal affairs.

Zhou Qingtian, a vice president of PDD, was a former official at the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce

NameCurrent Position at PinduoduoFormer Position
Wen XueVice President of PinduoduoFormer Inspector of the Advertising Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation
Xu MintaoPinduoduo Government Public Relations DirectorFormer Deputy Director of the Regulations Department of Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation
Zhou QingtianVice President of PinduoduoFormer Deputy Director of the Airport Branch of the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce
Guo HuaPinduoduo Public Affairs Senior DirectorFormer Deputy Director of the Trademark Office of the National Intellectual Property Administration
Wang JianSenior Vice President of PinduoduoFormer Member of the Judicial Committee of the Shanghai Second Intermediate People’s Court
Zhang JiangzhouLegal Director of PinduoduoFormer Deputy Chief of the Civil Division of the Beijing Haidian Court
Hu QidaLegal Director of PinduoduoFormer Judge of the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court
Tong LeiLegal Director of PinduoduoFormer Judge of the Shanghai Jing’an District Court
Jiang ShaocaiPinduoduo Public Affairs DirectorFormer Director of the Party and Government Affairs Division of the Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office
Dai ZhihuiVice President of PinduoduoFormer Assistant Director of the Information Technology Department (Data Center) of the National Internet Finance Association of China
Zhu ZhengSenior Vice President and Chief Development Officer of PinduoduoFormerly worked at the Ministry of Commerce and was stationed at the Economic and Commercial Office of a Chinese Embassy abroad
Song YuePinduoduo Public Relations Policy DirectorFormer Deputy Director of the Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition Enforcement Bureau of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce
Kejixun.com

Temu — which ran six ads during and after the Super Bowl this year — has growing clout in the United States, raising alarm among lawmakers in Washington, who worry its vast troves of U.S. consumer data could make it a national security threat.

In April Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sen. 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 Post he wants the site banned in the United States.

Colin Huang Zheng founded Temu’s parent company Pinduoduo — which is now staffed with one-time Chinese Communist leaders. VCG via Getty Images
Sen. Tom Cotton has called on the app to be shut down in the United States. AP

“Chinese tech companies across the board are beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and PDD Holdings is no different. PDD’s subsidiary Temu, should have no access to the American market,” Cotton told The Post.

The names and backgrounds of PDD’s leaders were first revealed on Kejixun.com, a Chinese language news site back in April. The link was taken down shortly after The Post reached out to Temu and PDD.

“If this leak is accurate, it’s another clear indication of the many ties between the Communist Party of China and Chinese businesses — even ones, like Pinduoduo, that are nominally private,” said Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of Strategy Risks, a China-focused data company.