U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that his administration asked to cut ties between the federal retirement funds and Chinese equities, as the pandemic continues to sour U.S.-China relations.
«Billions of dollars, billions […] Yeah, I pulled it back,» Trump said on federal retirement fund investments in China, first reported via television by «Fox News» – a popular platform used by the Republican president.
This confirms recent reports that Trump was mulling to ban a $50 billion transferal from the U.S. Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to mirror an MSCI index covering a broad universe of global capital markets.
More Chinese Equity Headwinds?
When asked about the potential for even tougher action against Chinese equities, specifically with regards to the unequal and advantageous reporting standards that mainland firms listed on the New York bourse enjoy, Trump noted that his team was looking at the option «very strongly».
«It's pretty amazing but here's the problem with that. Let's say we do that, right? So what are they going to do? They are going to move their listing to London or someplace else. You see?» Trump said.
«Let's say you want to get tough. You know everyone wants to be a tough guy. Look I am the toughest guy but what happens is they say 'okay, we will move to London or we will go to Hong Kong.»
«I Don’t Want to Talk to Him»
China is facing growing global backlash over its perceived mismanagement of the crisis not only from the U.S. but from many others in the international community such as Germany, France, U.K. Australia and, in the latest, New Zealand. Calls have been intensifying for an independent investigation into the early days of the outbreak of the coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, a city located in the landlocked province of Hubei.
In the case of the U.S. which has seen 86,000 coronavirus-related deaths – including, in the case of New York state, the equivalent of over 0.1 percent of its total population – Trump has backed calls for reparations, further denting U.S.-China relations.
«There are many things we could do,» Trump said, adding that he didn’t want to speak to his Beijing counterpart Xi Jinping. «We could cut off the whole relationship.»
