In November 2023, Chinese diplomats and US-based Chinese diaspora groups harassed and sought to silence anti-Xi Jinping protestors during the PRC leader’s visit to San Francisco for the APEC summit. The Washington Post reported that more than 35 pro-CCP groups with ties to the United Front from around the United States attended. The PRC consulate paid for their hotels and meals to incentivize participation and hired 60 private security guards to protect the groups. Footage showed PRC-linked Chinese diaspora group leaders as well as four PRC diplomats from the Los Angeles and San Francisco consulates in the crowd. Videos show pro-CCP activists attacking anti-Xi protesters with flagpoles, chemical spray, and physical force. There were more than a dozen attacks on protesters, leaving some hospitalized. Spokespeople from PRC consulates made statements that the pro-CCP groups attended voluntarily to welcome Xi, that they were the ones subject to violence, and evidence otherwise was fabricated. The PRC uses “United Front” work to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of the CCP. The CCP’s UFWD—the agency responsible for coordinating these kinds of influence operations—mostly focuses on the management of potential opposition groups inside China, but it also has an important foreign influence mission.