BlackRock, the world’s largest wealth manager, and MSCI, a leading provider of stock market indexes, were there invest American pension funds in Chinese companies that bolster China’s military and pose a security threat to America. In addition, more than 60 of these companies have been reported by US authorities for security or human rights violations.
That means the Americans have been funding the growth of our biggest adversary for years. The same communist government that steals Americans’ personal information from apps like tick tockspies on our allies’ imports and exportsand sets up CCP Police Stations in America. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
We know there has been a possibility that wealth management firms have been investing in CCP-backed companies for some time, and Congress is working to bring clarity and accountability to these firms. Recently, the Special Committee on China launched an investigation into several venture capital firms for their funding of Chinese tech companies. The Senate is working on a bill that would require American companies investing abroad, particularly in countries like China, to disclose certain investments. The bill also provides for the creation of a body to review and block those investments that pose national security concerns, similar to the Council on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS).
MSCI and BlackRock collectively manage over $22 trillion in assets. While these investments in Chinese companies can yield strong returns, jeopardizing our national security is not a wise trade. The means do not justify the ends.
The Special Committee on China raised those concerns in a letter sent to BlackRock and MSCI earlier this week. We called for a full tally of investments in Chinese companies – the American people deserve to know where their dollars are going and what kind of un-American behavior they are prompting. I hope the select committee will get a response soon so we can hold these companies accountable.
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