BOMBSHELL: Ken Paxton Campaign Funded by China Real Estate Investors Buying Texas Land [Houston Chronicle]

Sep 22

4 min read

Paxton’s campaign took $40,000 from companies & executives that facilitate the exact kind of Chinese investments he has criticized

AUSTIN, TX — Corrupt Ken Paxton campaign is being bankrolled by Chinese investors trying to buy Texas land and “facilitate the exact kind of Chinese investments he has criticized” in ads, according to bombshell new reporting in the Houston Chronicle.

According to the report, Paxton has received $40,000 from donors with links to Chinese real estate companies. Two of the donors previously worked for Modern Land, a company with a Chinese Communist Party branch, and began donating to Paxton this year and haven’t given to other federal candidates. These China linked real estate developers who are bankrolling Paxton’s campaign now work to facilitate wealthy China investors looking for help buying Texas land, “expanding into AI data center development” and have built major projects that have “drawn criticism from conservative activists.”

The Paxton campaign “did not address questions about the donations.”

Read for yourself:

Houston Chronicle: Ken Paxton donations tied to company that facilitates Chinese real estate investments in Texas

September 21, 2026

By Casey Murray

Ken Paxton and his allies have spent millions this election cycle on ads that accuse his Democratic U.S. Senate challenger, James Talarico, of helping Chinese investors buy up Texas land.
But before unleashing the attacks, Paxton’s campaign took in $40,000 from donors who work for companies that facilitate the exact kind of Chinese investments he has criticized, according to a review of campaign finance documents by Hearst Newspapers.
The donations, all made before the most recent June 30 filing deadline, were far from the largest to Paxton’s campaign. They are significant, however, given how heavily he and the GOP at large have gone in on making Chinese influence a marquee issue in the race.
A spokesperson for Paxton did not address questions about the donations
Most of the donations are linked to a U.S.-based real estate development company called Wan Bridge, which solicits foreign investors for its housing developments in Texas. Cofounder Ting Qiao donated nearly $30,000 to Paxton and PACs affiliated with him from June of last year through April. Danting Li, a cofounder and the company’s chief operations officer, donated just over $10,000 through two donations last year.
A third donor, John Chiang, works at a U.S. development firm that contracts with Wan Bridge, along with a U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese company connected to the Communist Party of China.
Wan Bridge’s American website opens to a leasing page that prompts visitors to learn more about its Houston, Dallas and Austin homes for rent. It also says the company is “expanding into AI data center development – creating the foundation for both future neighborhoods and next-generation digital infrastructure.”
Wan Bridge’s Chinese website, which Hearst reviewed using Google Translate, is oriented toward investors, with tabs to learn more about development projects and investor resources that do not appear on the U.S. site. It shows photos of houses the company has built in Houston, Austin and Dallas, which investors appear to be able to purchase and then collect rent from tenants. Part of the Chinese homepage advertises the company’s joint operations between the two countries, allowing for smoother investment from people based in China. The Chinese website also features company leaders in China who are not pictured on the U.S. site.
Neither Chiang, Qiao nor Li responded to requests for comment. Their companies also did not reply to messages seeking comment.
Both Li and Qiao formerly worked at Modern Land, a Chinese real estate development company with a Chinese Communist Party branch, which is sometimes required in the country. Qiao spent more than 10 years at Modern Land, according to his LinkedIn, and became executive vice president.
Li spent two years at the company via a U.S. subsidiary called America Modern Green, or AMG Capital, where she was director of investor relations, according to her LinkedIn.
AMG has been part of significant development projects in Houston, including a residential development in Lower Kirby called Ivy Green. The project has drawn criticism from conservative activists because part of its funding came from a federal program that grants visas to wealthy foreigners who make significant investments into U.S. companies.
AMG and Wan Bridge both work with U.S. development firm Sueba, which is based in Houston and where Chiang is the executive vice president and COO. The firm is one of AMG’s major partners for the Ivy Green project, handling construction on apartments. It is featured both on Wan Bridge’s U.S. and Chinese websites.
Chiang gave Paxton $3,000 this cycle, and has given him $12,000 across his previous races.
Qiao hasn’t given to other federal candidates
Finance experts say Chinese investors are drawn to U.S. real estate because of its relative stability. A Washington Post article from 2016, when Chinese investments here were at a peak, found that investors were “driven by expanding wealth in China and a desire for a haven against political instability.”
The leading buyers of U.S. real estate from foreign countries are from Canada and Mexico, followed by China, according to the National Association of Realtors. Buyers from China made up 11% of foreign purchases in 2026, the association said. Texas was the third most common destination, after California and Florida, for all foreign purchasers.

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