Biden’s Commerce Secretary Owns Stake in WeChat Parent Company, China's Tencent as White House Reviews Trump’s Ban

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and her husband own a financial stake in WeChat parent company Tencent Holdings, even as the Commerce Department reviews a ban of the Chinese tech giant.

Raimondo and her husband Andrew Moffit own a stake worth between $21,500 and $44,500 in Tencent Holdings, according to a financial disclosure filed Jan. 19 with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). The recently-confirmed commerce secretary promised to divest from other financial positions, citing potential conflicts of interest, but did not mention divesting from her stake in Tencent Holdings.

President Joe Biden’s administration is conducting a broad review of the previous administration’s outstanding executive orders related to China including an August action that banned transactions with Tencent Holdings. Biden’s Justice Department asked an appeals court to pause a case concerning the ban in February while it reviews the action, The Washington Post reported.

“As the Biden administration has taken office, the Department of Commerce has begun a review of certain recently issued agency actions, including the secretary’s prohibitions regarding the WeChat mobile application at issue in this appeal,” the Justice Department said in a February court filing, according to the Post.

Federal ethics law prohibits government employees from participating in official matters where they have a financial stake, but Raimondo’s holdings in Tencent may be exempt from conflict of interest laws.

Raimondo and Moffit jointly own shares of two emerging markets exchange-traded funds (ETF), which are composed of several foreign stocks including Tencent Holdings. Altogether, the couple’s position in the two ETFs is worth between $365,000 and $750,000. The exact amount is not provided in the OGE filing.

Tencent Holdings represents the biggest position in the emerging markets ETF managed by Vanguard and the second-biggest position in the ETF managed by BlackRock, both of which are owned by Raimondo and Moffit. Their total stake in Tencent Holdings could be worth as much as $44,490.

We should have a simple restriction on financial ties related to our congresscritters. None.

You may not utilize any income whatsoever, from any source, other than your established government salary as a senator or representative. Not one penny more, period. That salary may only include the exact same cost of living raise you grant, as a body, to those surviving on social security. Which, this year, was 1.8%. I’d even go for a rule requiring them to match their salary to those on SS. No more $175,000 a year. Survive on the same under $20,000 I do.

Connections to China...get me started again will ya...

We should allow no connections to China at all. Feinstein should have been removed when we discovered her chinese soy driver. biden should not have been allowed to run, due to his and his son’s connections to china. You think they wouldn’t do the same to us? This person should be removed.

China is our greatest enemy, any connection to China, especially financial, should be grounds for removal.

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