"I beat China all the time," he said when he announced his presidential campaign in 2015. "I own a big chunk of the Bank of America building [in San Francisco] and 1290 Avenue of the Americas that I got from China in a war. Very valuable. I love China."
But
The New York Times reported in 2016 that Trump only owned 30% of both buildings. And Trump's financial ties to the country do not end with his ownership stake in the building. Chinese state-owned companies are developing two luxury Trump buildings in
Indonesia and the
United Arab Emirates. The president and his daughter, Ivanka, have also been
granted numerous trademarks by the Chinese government since he took office. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has
sought Chinese investment in at least one real estate deal.
"We actually explored all these foreign enterprises and how once he became president he'd be seen differently by foreign leaders who would have leverage over this president, because he had investments in their countries and/or financial dealings with business enterprises and financial institutions and investors in their countries," Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who sits on the House Oversight Committee, told Politico. "He is highly conflicted with respect to China."