Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao remained in China meeting with senior Chinese officials while her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell, was hospitalized following a serious medical emergency, according to newly highlighted public records.
Chao reportedly did not immediately return to the United States during McConnell’s June hospitalization, saying, “The Senator’s health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.”
Chinese state media and university records indicate Chao took part in at least three public meetings during her trip:
June 12: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which includes a hall named after Chao’s late mother and houses a naval architecture program with reported military ties.
June 16: Wu Ken, president of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), an organization Congress has identified as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front system.
June 17: Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who previously served on the Politburo Standing Committee.
Who did Chao meet with during her June trip? Chinese state news & university records indicate three public meetings:
• 6/12: Shanghai Jiao Tong University – an institution that boasts a hall named after her late mother & houses a military-tied naval architecture program.
— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) July 8, 2026
The meetings are drawing renewed attention because of the Chao family’s longstanding business ties to China.
Those ties have been documented for years, including claims that Foremost Group—the shipping company owned by Chao’s family—has maintained extensive commercial relationships with Chinese state-owned entities dating back to the early 1990s. Public reporting and previous investigations have noted the company’s use of Chinese shipyards, state-backed financing, and business relationships with Chinese government-linked organizations.
This news isn’t shocking to us at the @Govt_Acct_Inst. I documented the McConnell-Chao family’s ties to Beijing in my 2018 book 'Secret Empires.'
Foremost Group, owned by Chao’s family, has received CCP funding since McConnell, Chao, and her father met with the China State… pic.twitter.com/5kcQcnOX1k
— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) July 8, 2026
Critics have long argued those relationships raise questions about Beijing’s influence over prominent American political families, while supporters have maintained the business dealings were legitimate commercial transactions.
The timing of Chao’s visit is now receiving additional scrutiny after McConnell’s June medical emergency, which previously was reported to have involved first responders performing CPR before transporting the longtime Kentucky senator to a hospital.
CNN obtains new video showing Mitch McConnell reportedly being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance outside his DC home on June 14 after suffering a medical emergency. McConnell has been absent for nearly a month with little updates from his office: pic.twitter.com/MCet47hC4f
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 10, 2026
McConnell’s office and Senate Republican leaders have since said the former GOP leader is recovering and remains actively engaged in Senate business.
