Gavin Newsom said the quiet part out loud, although I think he got the tense wrong. California has already learned a lot from China, even if there are more lessons to come.

"Gov. Newsom: California can learn a lot from China"

The CCP's control of the country must be a progressive's wet dream.https://t.co/bz4nYRgmQR

— BOOmertarian Norm (@Timberati) November 1, 2023

This piece in Calmatters, a “nonprofit, nonpartisan” news organization reads like it was co-written by CCP propagandists and Newsom. It overflows with praise, and half-truths, and I expected it to refer to Newsom as the “Dear Leader” or “Chairman Newsom.”

As he toured a wind turbine factory in China’s Jiangsu province last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the owner showed him a video of the famous wind farm in Livermore’s Altamont Pass.

It was what had inspired the man to get into the turbine business, according to the governor — illustrating California’s global leadership on renewable energy and how decades of partnership with China to tackle climate change have paid off with concrete progress.

I bet that video inspired him to do so. He was thinking “There’s a sucker born every minute, and this guy doesn’t exactly wear green eyeshaded.”

In addition to offshore wind and electric vehicles, Newsom said he looked forward to continuing to learn about China’s progress on regenerative and sustainable agriculture, endangered species protection and wetlands preservation. These will be crucial as California seeks to conserve at least 30% of its land and coastal waters by 2030, part of an international pact to preserve biodiversity.

After signing five new memorandums of understanding in China, the governor expects teams from his administration and state agencies such as the California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board to return and build on the work of his trip, as Chinese delegations have visited California in the past to collaborate on issues including air quality.

Newsom: “California can’t solve its climate crisis alone. It needs partners. And as I said, the United States can’t either, without the partnership of China and the globe.”

This must be a joke, right? China is at the forefront of environmental protection?

Governor Newsom:
… California can learn a lot from China.

Also: … "Climate change is my number one issue" (Homelessness is his other "#1 issue"😜)

Meanwhile: … China 👇 https://t.co/xLI7BMiHec pic.twitter.com/nnhXhwOmxH

— Don Penim (@Don_Penim) November 1, 2023

As you can see, in a sense Newsom is right, if environmental protection means grabbing as much money as possible from suckers who think they are doing good. China is spewing CO2 like there’s no tomorrow, and Newsom claims there won’t be if CO2 keeps increasing. Coal plants spew out more than a bit of particulates into the air.

“Green” policies are not so much about protecting the environment and more about virtue signaling. The single smartest thing Newsom could do to reduce pollution in his state is to implement better forestry management. But is cheap, effective, and hard to exploit if what you want is to use government money for pet projects.

Reporters repeatedly asked Newsom about his surprise meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping and criticism that he focused his tour on climate at the expense of highlighting China’s human rights abuses and stifling of democracy. Newsom reiterated that he raised those concerns with high-ranking Chinese officials and discussed during his “very tight and constrained meeting” with Xi how black-market chemicals from China are fueling California’s fentanyl crisis.’

Of all the issues Newsom could focus on, he chooses the one where California can learn the least from China.

Perhaps Newsom, in anticipation of his presidential bid in coming years, is doing a little bit of research on the techniques Hunter Biden perfected to milk China of cash, although that doesn’t seem his style. He is smoother, smarter, and more self-controlled than either Hunter or Joe, and Newsom would avoid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Newsom reminds us of the importance of being pretty and smooth. For some reason, these qualities can make one “presidential,” in the manner of Barack Obama whose cultural signaling to liberals was pitch-perfect. Newsom exudes the same vibe.

What Newsom admires about China is its deployment of power and control over the population. He may have been talking out loud about electricity generation, but he was taking notes on how to grab and use power against people. That is where China excels.