Donald Trump’s legacy in the financial sector may have a lasting impact on the new administration with a potential official expressing openness to using the former president’s investment bans against China.
«It is critical that we use Treasury’s tools to hold China accountable for actions they take that are not consistent with international law and that put our national security at risk,» said Wally Adeyemo, deputy Treasury secretary nominee, during his Senate confirmation hearing.
Adeyemo noted that it would require «a critical look at how Chinese firms may be using our financial system to do just that».
Policy Shift
Responding to a question from Oregon Democrat lawmaker Ron Wyden about continuing Trump's bans against Chinese military-linked investments, the candidate to be Janet Yellen’s right-hand man said he would meet with Treasury officials to understand how such bans were being implemented as well as other tools, once his position has been confirmed.
The ex-Obama administration official noted his preference for multilateral solutions over unilateral ones to «demonstrate that China will be isolated if they violate rules of the road».
He also preferred the Treasury taking a holistic over isolated an isolated view without separating economic and security issues «because that’s the way the Chinese look at these [issues]».
