The administration of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a likely 2016 GOP presidential contender, appears to have had a hand in helping two Chinese politician-cum-tycoons — who in recent years have come under public scrutiny on allegations of environmental abuses and corruption — park assets in a proposed methanol plant beside an underserved, predominantly black community in southern Texas....

Perry’s office directed the Chinese bid to Don Gartman, then the president of the Galveston County Economic Alliance. Gartman collaborated with Perry in previous economic development campaigns, according to Web archives of The Galveston County Daily News. It’s unclear why the governor’s office was directly involved with the bid.

Perry’s representatives and Political Action Committee RickPAC did not respond to requests for an interview with Perry. The Texas Governor’s Office did not respond to questions on its role in the deal. ...

In September 2014, less than two months after the land was leased and the deal appeared to be moving ahead, Perry — who predicted before the 2012 presidential election that the Chinese government would end up on the “ash heap of history” — traveled to China, where he met China’s Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and penned a pledge to ramp up business partnerships with Chinese provinces.

Even Joe Albaugh is in on this one.