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Image source, SINA WEIBO
Chinese netizens joked about a ‘comrade Trump’ who paid party fees to China
US President Donald Trump has a bank account in China and has spent years chasing business ventures in the country, the New York Times reported.
Accounts controlled by Trump International Hotels Management, paid local taxes between 2013 and 2015.
The account was created to “explore the potential of hotel deals in Asia,” according to a Trump spokesperson.
Trump has criticized American companies doing business in China and sparked a trade war between the two countries.
The NY Times revealed the account after gaining access to Trump’s tax records, including personal and corporate financial details.
The NY Times reported that Trump paid $ 750 in US federal taxes in 2016 and 2017 when he became president.
Trump’s bank account in China paid $ 188,561 in local taxes.
Trump has criticized rival Joe Biden and his policies with China ahead of the November 3 US election.
The Trump administration targets Hunter, Biden’s son, and makes unsubstantiated statements about Biden’s deals with China. Joe Biden’s income tax return and public financial disclosures show no China-related business transactions.
Office ‘inactive’
Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, described the NY Times story as mere “speculation” and said it made “inaccurate assumptions.”
He told the newspaper that Trump International Hotels Management had “opened an account at a Chinese bank with offices in the United States to pay local taxes.”
“There have been no transactions or other business activities and since 2015 the office has been inactive,” said Mr. Garten.
“Although the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose,” he told the NY Times.
The president of the United States has many business interests both in the United States and abroad. These include golf courses in Scotland and Ireland and a chain of five-star luxury hotels.
The NY Times reported that Trump maintains overseas bank accounts in China, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
‘End dependence on China’
In August, Trump said he wanted to grant tax credits to entice American companies to move their factories out of China.
He also threatened to strip companies of government contracts that continue to hire Chinese workers.
In a speech, Trump promised to create 10 million jobs in 10 months, while declaring that “we will end dependence on China.”
But in stark contrast to Trump’s remarks, the NY Times details how he seeks to do business in China. His efforts accelerated in 2012 with the opening of an office in Shanghai.
Trump’s tax records obtained by the NY Times show he invested at least $ 192,000 in five small businesses specially formed to carry out projects in China over the years.
These companies have claimed at least $ 97,400 in business expenses since 2010, including some small payments for accounting taxes and fees in 2018.
But the US president’s plans in China are largely driven by Trump International Hotels Management, through direct ownership of THC China Development, according to the NY Times.
China jokes about ‘comrade Trump’
Kerry Alle analysisnorth, BBC News language Trungram
Image source, fake images
Donald Trump has described China as a threat to the United States
Donald Trump’s tax payments to China have amazed and delighted social media users here. They have closely watched your tax reports.
Photos and comments regarding “Comrade Trump” are causing a sensation on the Sina Weibo social network. The network user is jokingly saying that Mr. Trump “paid membership dues to the party [Cộng sản] his “and” La Patria will never forget “his contributions.
But many are still in awe that Trump appears to have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes to China, but paid very little in the United States.
One Weibo user said, “He paid China 250 times the tax he paid to his ugly country,” noting that a recent New York Times report accused Trump of paying only $ 750. US tax (£ 580) in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
Others were surprised that the president of the United States, while involved in a trade war, appeared to be pursuing personal interests in China. However, no further details were released in Chinese media about Trump’s bank account that was discovered by the New York Times.
New developments in the US elections?
Less than two weeks before the election, Biden took the initiative again on Tuesday as he prepared for the final presidential debate on Thursday. Maintains a consistent lead in national opinion polls.
Trump, trying to convince the American people, continues to claim that the United States is well ahead of the pandemic, despite data showing an increase in cases and hospital admissions in most states.
First lady Melania Trump withdrew from a planned campaign in Erie, Pennsylvania, with President Trump, due to her persistent symptoms of Covid-19 infection.
On Wednesday, former President Barack Obama appeared for the first time in Biden’s election campaign. Mr. Obma organized a campaign in Philadelphia. President Trump will also run his own campaign, this time in Gastonia, North Carolina.
