Trump maintains a Chinese bank account, says NYT

US President Donald Trump has admitted he has a Chinese bank account, according to a report by the New York Times.

The account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management and paid local taxes between 2013 and 2015.

It was set up “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia”, according to a Trump spokesman.

Mr Trump has been critical of US firms doing business in China and sparked a trade war between the two countries.

The NYT revealed the account after obtaining Mr Trump’s tax records, which included both personal and company financial details.

The newspaper’s previous reports show he paid $750 (£580) in US federal taxes in 2016 and 2017, when he became president.

The Chinese bank account has paid out $188,561 in local taxes.

Mr Trump has been critical of presidential candidate rival Joe Biden and his policies towards China in the lead-up to the US election, taking place on 3 November.

The Trump administration has singled out Mr Biden’s son Hunter and his dealings with China.

‘Inactive’ office

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told the NYT that Trump International Hotels Management had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes”.

“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialized and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” Mr Garten said.

“Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose,” he told the NYT.

The US president has multiple business interests both in the US and overseas. These include golf courses in Scotland and Ireland and a chain of five-star luxury hotels.

The NYT reported that Mr Trump maintains foreign bank accounts in China, Britain and Ireland.

‘End our reliance on China’

In August, Mr Trump said he wanted to offer tax credits to entice US firms to move factories out of China.

He also threatened to strip government contracts from firms that continue to outsource work to China.

In a speech, Mr Trump vowed to create 10m jobs in 10 months, saying “we will end our reliance on China”.

In stark contrast, the NYT report details how Mr Trump has been looking to land business in China. His efforts accelerated in 2012 with the opening of a Shanghai office.

 

Source: BBC