McRae: Holding China accountable
By Treasurer David McRae
President Donald J. Trump has long criticized the Chinese Communist Party for its threat to America’s economic stability and republican values. While his critiques began long before he swore the Oath of Office, his actions since show the globe that America will no longer turn a blind eye to the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to rip off Americans.
Today, the United States operates with a $295.4 billion trade deficit with China – the largest of any partner we work with. President Trump is actively seeking to rebalance that relationship by bringing manufacturing back to the United States and imposing strong tariffs that bring China to the negotiating table.
President Trump understands – perhaps better than any President America has ever had – the Art of the Deal. He understands that while China has the goods; America has the consumers – and China can’t survive without that. Understanding that basic power we hold allows the President to negotiate from a position of strength, and I’m confident he’s doing just that.
Of course, China remains an untrustworthy adversary, and their threats against the United States are often as much about national security ambitions as they are about economic ones. Beginning in 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that certain Chinese stocks would be barred from U.S. stock exchanges. Delisted on the grounds of national security, many of the stocks affected were for Chinese defense, surveillance, and telecommunications companies.
Not surprisingly, China has worked to skirt the regulations, manipulating and threatening auditors and investigators in order to circumnavigate American disclosure or antifraud provisions.
Earlier this year, I wrote to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins about the situation, laying out the multiple ways China has prevented the proper investigatory work from being done and urging him to take swift and thorough action. After all, as a financial officer for Mississippi, it’s my responsibility to ensure Mississippians’ finances (and our financial system) are protected from foreign actors who mean to do us harm. It is time to hold countries like China accountable for ripping off Americans – in every way possible.
President Trump has put America First; he’s held the Chinese Communist Party accountable. It is my pledge to you to do the same.
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College and Career Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $100 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit www.Treasury.MS.gov.
