(Republicaninformer.com)- Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, is lobbying Congress to pass a law that would mandate state and local governments to divest themselves of all investments related to China.
According to Noem, the nation in Asia poses a risk to the safety of the United States.
They are ramping up their efforts to purchase significant components of America’s food supply, including chemical companies, fertilizer companies, processing facilities, and our nation’s agricultural land.
The move is the most recent action taken by the governor, who in recent weeks has barred the use of the app TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese government, on state-owned devices and requested that the state investment board investigate whether or not any state investments have any connections to China.
According to a press release issued by Noem’s office, the findings of the review conducted by the South Dakota Investment Council revealed that the state had divested itself of any Chinese interests. However, using an exchange-traded fund that tracks emerging markets, approximately one-third of the SDIC’s portfolio is connected to Chinese companies.
Approximately 0.7% of the portfolio is allocated to investments in Chinese real estate, made possible through the use of external funds. Noem has requested that the SDIC investigate available options.
Noem is a supporter of a bill that was introduced by Senator Erin Tobin, a Republican from Winner, and Representative-elect Gary Cammack, a Republican from Union Center, and would establish a board to investigate agricultural land purchases made by foreign interests.
Additionally, the governor wrote a letter to the investment bank Vanguard, requesting that they divest themselves of their holdings in Chinese companies.
In the letter that Noem sent to Vanguard CEO Mortimer Buckley, she said, “I recognize that China falls under the definition of ’emerging markets’ that Vanguard uses. Nevertheless, I disagree with the concept that China is an “emerging market,” given that the country has the second largest GDP in the world, which is approximately 18 trillion dollars. Because of this, I would like to propose to Vanguard that they establish a different type of emerging markets fund that does not include China.”
