China is one of three countries where US President Donald Trump has a bank account. This information was found by the journalists of The New York Times in the president's tax papers they received.
Trump's hotel chain last paid taxes in China as recently as 2018. It is noted that the businessman intended to gain a foothold in the PRC, and his projects continued to work for some time after he began the presidential campaign in 2016.
However, unlike Britain and Ireland – two other foreign countries, in whose banks Trump's companies have accounts – in the case of China, we are talking about insignificant amounts. This was pointed out in a conversation with journalists and the organization's lawyer Alan Garten. According to him, Trump had plans to develop a business in Chinese territory, but already in 2015, the company's branch located there was frozen – and has remained inactive since then.
The Trump organization also owns a number of enterprises registered in the PRC. The publication reminds that the firm THC China Development in 2017 brought more than $ 17 million in profit: apparently, this is due to the contract for the management of a hotel in New York. The Times also mentions a number of cases when influential Chinese entrepreneurs associated with the government acquired expensive real estate from the head of the United States.
Relations with China have become one of the highlights in the candidates' campaigns: the incumbent president accuses Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, of loyalty to the Chinese state and frequently speaks of foreign deals made by his son Hunter.
In August, Trump said that if he wins the next presidential election, he will be ready to consider the possibility of separating the economies of the United States and China.
The United States has been waging a trade war with China since 2017. In early 2020, the parties decided to make mutual concessions and entered into the “first phase” of the deal, then Beijing agreed to purchase more American goods. However, later, the American side accused China of hiding data on the spread of the coronavirus and refused to conclude the “second phase of the deal.”
