The chairman and GOP members of the House committee have urged the Biden administration to investigate six state-owned Chinese companies for their alleged connections to sanctioned Iranian industries. These companies are accused of supporting Iran’s military and energy sectors, with reports suggesting that U.S. investment firms have invested billions of dollars in them.
The committee’s report highlighted that U.S. investment firms like MSCI and BlackRock have facilitated investments of over $6.5 billion into 63 Chinese companies, some of which are flagged or blacklisted by the U.S. government for various reasons, including enhancing China’s military capabilities and involvement in human rights abuses.
The lawmakers expressed concerns that some of these Chinese companies may be engaged in activities that violate existing U.S. sanctions against Iran. They identified leading firms in China’s weapons, aviation, ocean shipping, and petroleum industries, such as Norinco, AVIC, COSCO, CNOOC, CRRC, and Sinopec, with four of them being on the U.S. trade blacklist.
The lawmakers detailed the companies’ roles in Iran’s defense and energy sectors, including providing weapons, transporting oil, and collaborating on oil field projects. They called for a thorough investigation by the Treasury Department to determine if these companies are indeed violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
A report from the Prague Security Studies Institute revealed that 40 Chinese publicly traded companies have strategic ties to Iran’s military or energy industry, with significant investments from U.S. asset managers. These companies operate in various sectors in Iran, raising questions about the due diligence and risk disclosures performed by U.S. investment firms.
Due to Western sanctions, Iran heavily relies on China for its oil exports, with China being Iran’s largest trading partner. The lawmakers emphasized the need to counter the collaboration between China and Iran, especially in supporting activities that threaten regional security and stability.
Legislation efforts have been introduced to restrict U.S. investments in Chinese companies that contribute to strengthening the Chinese regime’s military capabilities. Measures like requiring disclosure of investments in foreign adversaries and restricting pension funds from investing in firms from foreign adversaries aim to enhance transparency and safeguard American interests. Please rewrite this sentence.
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