Evidently it started to become official with the Governator in 2010

At the invitation of Governor Schwarzenegger, Chinese leaders flew to Sacramento to work out a deal to purchase California. “The deal is that we will still be part of the United States, but China will take over the state government. They will make all the economic and political decisions within the state, but they will yield to the federal government on national issues.”

“It’s a states rights issue,” said constitutional scholar, Chris Rigaux of Stanford Law School. “California has the right to manage its own finances without the U.S. government getting in the way. The state is bankrupt and if China wants to own a piece – or all – of California and lawmakers want to sell the state to them, that’s constitutionally allowed.”

[link to weeklyworldnews.com]