US President Donald Trump has an open bank account in China and at least $192,000 worth of investments in small Chinese businesses, despite the anti-China rhetoric that he’s been pushing ever since he first entered the political arena.
According to a New York Times report, Trump admitted that he has a Chinese bank account, which a Trump organisation lawyer, Alan Garten, confirmed. The account, is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management, which had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes”. The account was set up “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia”, according to a Trump spokesman.
This revelation comes after it was found that Trump had paid just $750 in federal taxes in 2016 and 2017. In contrast, Trump has paid $188,561 in local taxes through his Chinese bank account - all while he has been levelling criticism at his presidential rival, Joe Biden, criticising his policies towards the rising superpower and citing his son Hunter’s dealings in China.
However, Garten claims that the Trump Organisation’s Chinese bank account has been inactive ever since he entered office.
“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialised and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” he said.
“Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose.”
“We will end our reliance on China,” Trump said in a speech, as reported by BBC, before promising to create 10 million jobs in 10 months by incentivising businesses to withdraw from China.
Trump’s criticism of US businesses doing business in China has sparked a trade war between the two nations. His ostensibly strong-armed stance on China is one of the president’s most popular policy positions among his supporters, and could have a detrimental affect on his campaign for re-election, with Joe Biden already holding what appears to be a insurmountable lead in the polls.
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