Tuesday in a letter and during a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) pushed the U.S. Department of the Treasury to assure Americans that they are not unknowingly investing in U.S.-sanctioned and other questionable Chinese corporations that are linked to human rights abuses.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senator Young wrote that if the Biden Administration were to undo policies of the last four years, Americans could be unwittingly supporting Chinese companies affiliated with the Chinese military and others who are committing genocide against the Uyghur population in China, manufacturing advanced weapons systems, and constructing an oppressive surveillance state.
Bipartisan actions led by Republicans over the past year have made important strides toward eliminating those threats, including an Executive Order signed by former President Trump. The Biden Administration is currently reviewing that Executive Order.
“One of China’s most glaring weaknesses is access to the kind of large-scale financing that only U.S. capital markets can adequately provide,” Senator Young wrote in the letter. “As this is one of our country’s greatest strengths, we must take every measure necessary to protect it. We must place American investor protection and our national security interests ahead of any fleeting investment gains when it comes to the financing of the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated enterprises and activities.”
In addition to the letter, during a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing today, Senator Young questioned Deputy Treasury Secretary Nominee Wally Adeyemo about his plans to combat this issue and whether he would support codifying the Executive Order. Mr. Adeyemo committed to working with Congress on these issues, if confirmed.
