A travel ban in the United States would ban China’s top billionaire businessmen from being American

07/17/2020 Business, Science, Technology, World


The draft of the order, the existence of which was first reported by the New York Times, citing four anonymous sources, has not been released, and the Times reported that it could still be rejected by President Donald Trump. Reuters confirmed details of the Times article, citing an unnamed source.

Such restrictions would be radical and could affect the more than 90 million party members and their families.

They include many members of China’s corporate elite, who would not be able to travel to the United States to do business. Alibaba (SLIME) founder Jack Ma, group founder Dalian Wanda Wang Jianlin and BYD founder Wang Chuanfu are all members of the Communist Party. Ma, who has a net worth of nearly $ 50 billion, according to Bloomberg, was featured as a communist almost two years ago by the People’s Daily, the ruling party’s official newspaper.
Dalian Wanda has the largest chain of cinemas in the world, AMC (AMC). BYD is one of the leading electric car manufacturers in China, and has Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) among its main shareholders.

“The rich and powerful in China are almost all party members,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the China University Center for China Studies in Hong Kong, adding that people with money or influence are more likely to join. to the match.

Whether or not an executive believes in party philosophy, Lam said becoming a member has a lot of practical use in China. He suggested that the party membership could help people get bank loans and do business with state companies.

A travel ban could trap many more top CEOs in China, depending on how wide the network is. Executives often have ties to the government, even if they have not been identified as card party members. Tencent (TCEHY) Founder Pony Ma and Xiaomi President Lei Jun, for example, are members of the National People’s Congress (APN), the country’s main legislative body. AND Baidu (BIDU) Founder Robin Li is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a major political advisory body.

There are more than 30 million private companies in China. Of the 8,000 businessmen who responded to a government survey published last year, more than half said they were members of the Chinese Communist Party. A quarter of the total of the respondents were members of the APN, while approximately a third were members of the CPPCC.

It is also common for private companies to work with the Communist Party. Last year, for example, China sent officials to Alibaba, the automaker. Geely (GELYF) and dozens of other companies as part of a plan to drive high-tech manufacturing. TikTok owner ByteDance, meanwhile, has his own Communist Party committee, chaired by Zhang Fuping, according to state media reports.
A new world war for technology

Banning travel to the United States would likely cause serious problems for these executives and their companies. Many Chinese companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, are listed on the U.S. stock exchanges, for example.

China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that a travel ban would be “pathetic” if implemented.

Meanwhile, some experts are skeptical of how such a ban would work in practice.

“It would prohibit too many people from coming to the United States,” said David Zweig, professor emeritus and director of the China Center for Transnational Relations at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “And what will the United States do if people lie?”

Zweig noted that many high-ranking academics are also members of the Chinese Communist Party, and the move could have serious repercussions for Chinese students studying in the United States.

However, Lam said he believes the move is likely intended to “send a message,” even if the United States sacrifices some business interests. He noted that tensions between the United States continue to rise and that a “decoupling” between the two countries is accelerating.

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