Congressman Josh Riley linked to China-backed Belt and Road think tank through father-in-law

Josh Riley’s father-in-law founded a nonprofit that co-runs a China-government-affiliated institute promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, and Riley has attended its events and opposed a bill curbing Chinese influence.

Harinder Kohli, the father-in-law of New York Democrat Josh Riley, founded the Emerging Markets Forum, a nonprofit that co-funded an institute at Beijing Normal University—a university overseen by China’s Ministry of Education and required to support the Communist Party’s leadership. The forum regularly partners with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, a United Front body that seeks to extend Beijing’s influence abroad.

Riley attended the forum’s global meetings in 2014, 2017 and 2019, sharing a panel with the institute’s dean, who later led Beijing Normal University’s Belt and Road School. In Congress, Riley voted against the 2025 DETERRENT Act, which would have forced universities to disclose gifts from foreign nations of concern, including China. His familial and professional connections to the China-aligned think tank emerge as he campaigns for reelection in one outlet District, a seat that could affect the House majority.

The Emerging Markets Forum promotes trade with U.S. rivals and lauds Belt and Road projects, despite criticism over debt-trap concerns. Riley did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.