At a time when red states such as Florida, Indiana and Missouri have passed laws banning state investment commissions from engaging with Chinese funds, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has allowed his state to expand its support for the Chinese government.
As the governor of the Nation of 10,000 Lakes, Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, has significant authority over the selection of members of the Minnesota Board of Investment (SBI). SBI members are typically elected or appointed by the auditors and treasurers of other countries. state.
Since Walz became governor in 2019, SBI appointees have transferred about 70% of the roughly $1.3 billion in funds into Chinese funds, according to a data analysis by the nonpartisan watchdog group Future Union. I turned around.
Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event at Trevor Brown High School on October 26, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. Associated Press.
“The governor selects and appoints the members of the board that oversees the pension. It is not an elected board,” Future Union Executive Director Andrew King told the Post. “Simply put, Governor Walz is the most important elected official in our government, and he has personal responsibility and responsibility for managing our investments.”
Although the board claims it has not made any new investments in China funds since Walz took office, King said that during his term as governor, even TikTok’s parent company ByteDance closed existing investments. He said this was misleading because it had continued.
King said investing in Chinese funds poses a national security risk for a variety of reasons. While the U.S. dollar stimulating China’s economy is a concern in itself, it is often “linked elements and knowledge that would be far more influential and dangerous if it were in the hands of an adversary.”
“States need to make wise decisions and protect the interests of pensioners by pursuing safe investments in the United States,” King said. “Not only are we putting our capital at risk, but we are also exposing ourselves to the transfer and loss of irreplaceable intangible know-how and cutting-edge technology due to corporate pressure and China’s notorious cyber theft. ”
Future Union is led by Andrew King, a venture capitalist who serves as an advisor to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. X / Andrew Charles King
Minnesota’s $1.3 billion investment in China represents just over 1% of the state’s total investment budget, considering that Minnesota invests “one of the largest pension dollars of any small state” in Beijing. That’s a lot, King said.
While some money is going to Chinese-owned funds that invest only in the U.S., King said, “the reward is to give up on technology and access and access to get approval to invest in Chinese startups.” Even those are problematic because of the need to gain influence.” ”
States and other investors may be tempted to engage with Chinese funds because they often offer large returns. But these are “largely due to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) setting criteria for which companies are the party’s preferred winners,” King said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia on October 24, 2024. Associated Press.
“The problem is that in China’s rigged system, the Chinese Communist Party is the gatekeeper for its funds to win government investment. That means the funds are trying to outdo each other and take away America’s most important money. “We’re being encouraged to sacrifice ever more lucrative know-how in order to use technology as a pawn,” King said.
The news comes amid concerns from Republicans over Walz’s deep ties to China, which he has visited repeatedly over the past three decades. In August, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee began investigating Walz’s ties to hostile government officials.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told the paper, “Governor Walz has invested millions of American tax dollars in communist China, which is controlled by a regime bent on destroying our country.” It’s very concerning.” “This revelation highlights the importance of the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to influence and arrest Governor Walz.”
He added, “The Oversight Committee’s government-wide investigation into how federal agencies are handling the Chinese Communist Party’s political and economic warfare reveals just how dangerous unfettered engagement and investment in China is.” It happened,” he added. “But it turns out that the Harris-Waltz camp has no interest in strengthening the American homeland in the face of the Cold War waged by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks at a campaign stop in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on October 28, 2024.
Minnesota is not alone in having state funds invested in China, but several states have recently moved to ban the practice. Florida, Indiana, and Missouri each recently enacted legislation restricting future state investments in Chinese funds. Kansas passed a law in April restricting such investments, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stick directed relevant agencies to develop plans to divest capital from China.
“Recently, the backlash against China … has become much more mainstream,” Dr. King said. “…Now is not the time for words, it is the time for action, and too many governors and states continue to evade leadership that would allow these investments to continue.”
“Countries should prioritize the long-term interests of pensioners, which ensure investment liquidity, unencumbered by onerous contractual burdens aimed at preventing the free movement of capital, and basic “The nation, not the enemy, is dedicated to defeating us.” ”
