Tensions continue to rise between the leadership of the U.S. and China over issues like the Chinese spy balloon and the origins of COVID-19, but American cash is still flowing freely to Chinese companies. In fact, a new report says China is now using the movement toward Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing to encourage more American investment in Chinese interests.
American companies doing big business in China is nothing new, but it is more dangerous in light of the growing influence China is seeking in the U.S. "American business has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into China, and did so at a time that was critical to the Chinese Communist Party," says Gordon Chang, author and China expert. "Without that support, China would be nowhere near where it is today."
What is even more insidious is the push toward woke ESG investing, which Chang argues only exposes the hypocrisy of Wall Street. "China is the worst violator of ESG standards," he tells KTRH. "I don't know how Wall Street firms can talk about investing in China while they also talk about ESG."
"It's clear that Wall Street is more firmly behind China than the United States," Chang continues. "And ESG is a perfect example of that, where they go after conservative investments and they aid China in the process."
Chang warns that it's time for not only American leaders, but American businesses to take the threat from China more seriously. "The Communist Party of China is an enemy of the United States," he says. "They declared a 'people's war' on us in 2019...as part of that they have been killing Americans with COVID-19 and with fentanyl. We have got to recognize this, or we're going to lose our country."
Photo: AFP