The true face of Trump, "the mortal enemy of the CCP", "anti-communist", "defender of democracy", "advocate of universal values" and "defender of American freedom"

http://finance.ifeng.com/c/7zeat7RfL1y

Businessman Trump: While chanting boycott made in China, he placed orders for Chinese factories

Times Finance

09-10 16:13

Author: Liu Muxuan of Times Finance

The 2020 U.S. election is less than two months away, and U.S. jobs data is still not looking good.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on September 4, local time, although the U.S. unemployment rate continued to drop to 8.4% in August, it was still much higher than the pre-epidemic level, and the number of new jobs in the non-agricultural sector has continued. After two months of slowing growth, job growth appears to be losing steam.

In this regard, Trump chose to again baselessly accuse China that "it was China that stole American jobs". At a campaign rally on September 8, local time, Trump also claimed that Biden’s policy agenda is in favor of “Made in China,” while his own policy agenda is in favor of “Made in America.”

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Workers at a factory in Anhui province, China, weave propaganda banners for Trump's 2020 U.S. election on July 24, 2018. (Source: Reuters)

But in fact, just in terms of economic interests, Trump himself has a much deeper connection with the Chinese market than Biden. From Yiwu promotional materials to wearing Chinese-made ties, what are Trump's business dealings with China?

Who bought Yiwu flags and hats?

When it comes to Chinese products directly related to Trump, many people will think of Yiwu, China, which is ridiculed "can predict the US election".

Every U.S. presidential election, a large number of promotional materials for presidential candidates, such as flags, baseball caps, T-shirts, rubber bracelets, latex masks and other items, are purchased from this small town in central Zhejiang, China. This year, due to the new crown epidemic, masks and face towels with the candidate's name and campaign slogan printed on the aid commodities sent from Yiwu to the United States have also been added.

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It is rumored on the Internet that many Trump and Biden propaganda hats are made in China. (Source: Twitter)

According to Trump's campaign strategy, he claims to "snatch" manufacturing jobs from China back to the United States.

Times Finance reviewed all the public order spending of the Trump campaign from the beginning of January 2017 to the end of August 2020 published on the official website of the Federal Election Commission, and this document detailing Uber fares shows that Trump The promotional materials purchased by the Pu team only come from two companies, Ace Specialties and Cali-Fame.

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From the beginning of January 2017 to the end of August 2020, the promotional materials purchased by the Trump team only came from two companies, Ace Specialties and Cali-Fame. (Source: Screenshot of the official website of the US Federal Election Commission)

The former has been the official merchandise provider and distributor for the Trump campaign since 2015, producing banners, signs, badges, wristbands, and more, while the latter makes $25 "Make America Great Again." America Great Again" promotional hat.

Hat on the factory floor of the Carson Cali Hall of Fame. The hat and apparel maker is best known for Trump's "Make America Great Again hats. Los Angeles Times.jpg

Cali-Fame focuses on making Trump's official promotional hat. (Source: Los Angeles Times)

Times Finance reporter learned that on Alibaba International Edition and Amazon, the prices of Trump propaganda products produced in China are far cheaper than those of the same type of American products, and "Made in China" is obvious in terms of type, order volume and turnover. Better than "Made in America".

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The picture above shows a Chinese product on Alibaba International, and the picture below shows an American competitor on Amazon. (Source: Screenshots of Alibaba International Edition and Amazon Webpage)

Who placed the order for hundreds of thousands of Trump propaganda items produced in China?

Maybe Granada, the "hard fan" who has attended more than 60 rallies of President Trump, knows. According to ABC News in the United States, Granada said in an interview that most of the propaganda used by supporters at Trump rallies was made in China, and people did not mind it.

In fact, it may be that only the propaganda sold on Trump's official campaign website is "Made in America."

Whether Trump himself likes it or not, these propaganda materials from China can be said that Trump is contributing to China's GDP growth.

It is worth mentioning that the number of these promotional materials is still a "drop in the ocean" for Yiwu's strong productivity. Times Finance verified that the relevant Yiwu Commodity Index did not fluctuate significantly as the US election day approached, and the sub-categories of the index statistics were only at the level of hats and national flags. .

And some media's competing reports mostly interviewed some self-employed businessmen in Yiwu. Based on their subjective feelings about the number of orders for the promotional materials of the two US presidential candidates, there is not much science to speculate on the results of the election. in accordance with.

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The Yiwu Commodity Index, which is rumored to be able to "predict the US election", has actually not fluctuated much in the near future. (Source: Yiwu Index official website) "I am a businessman"

There is no powerful and far-sighted businessman who does not covet China's market and manufacturing capabilities, and neither does Trump.

Trump was already a billionaire before he ran for president. According to Times Finance, in July 2015, the Office of Government Ethics released a financial statement for then-presidential candidate Trump. The 95-page declaration shows that there are 515 corporate organizations in which Trump is a partner, director and president, and nearly 400 of these organizations are directly named after Trump's name or his initials. , covering areas ranging from hotels, casinos, golf courses to furniture, clothing and daily necessities.

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Financial statements filed by Trump as a presidential candidate in 2015. (Source: Official website of the Office of Government Ethics)

Obviously, these businesses cannot all be directly managed by Trump. Therefore, to discuss Trump's business ties with China is equivalent to discussing the economic ties between the Trump family's industry and China.

According to Forbes magazine, which has tracked Trump’s net worth for more than 30 years, Trump’s net worth before becoming president was around $4 billion. Due to the special nature of the presidency, in order to avoid the suspicion of using power for personal gain, Trump's net worth after taking office will only be less than $4 billion. The same applies to members of the Trump family who are increasingly integrated into politics, including their eldest daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Kushner.

According to the database and bulletin of the China Trademark Office, Times Finance has noticed that since 2005, many companies under Trump have applied for registration in China for at least 130 restaurants, bars, hotels, brokerage services and advertising management consulting. trademark. Meanwhile, Ivanka has 16 registered trademarks and more than 30 pending trademarks in China.

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Many people don't know that the word "Trump" is officially registered as a trademark by Trump. (Source: Associated Press)

Although Trump or Ivanka's companies have not yet directly expanded their business in China, Chinese manufacturing has still given the Trump family a lot of sweetness. According to the New York Times, most of the products of the Trump and Ivanka fashion brands are produced in China. As for the proportion of "Made in China" in the Trump family brand, you can refer to the estimates of the US Department of Commerce: more than 40% of the clothing products in the United States are from China.

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Many of the Trump family's branded goods are "Made in China." (Source: Twitter)

Even if Trump intends to reduce its reliance on Chinese manufacturing, as the Trump family enters the political arena, the group companies that have lost their direct leadership will undoubtedly return to the laws of the market and choose "Made in China" with market competitive advantages.

According to CNN, U.S. customs data collected by the trade statistics agency ImportGenius shows that from September 2019 to September 2020, Trump-affiliated companies have purchased and imported more than 8 tons of various commodities from China.

In addition, more than 6 tons of Chinese-made tables were delivered to the Trump International Hotel in New York at the same time that Trump tweeted at the end of last year that the Sino-U.S. trade talks were going well. At the same time that Trump tweeted to slander the "Chinese virus" in May this year, another 2 tons of wooden glass display cases arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles from Shanghai.

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In July 2015, when the host asked if Trump's tie was made in China, Trump graciously admitted. (Source: Twitter)

Perhaps, Trump's attitude towards "Made in China" has not changed. As a politician who cares about interests, he will hold high the banner of boycotting "Made in China", as he did in an interview with CNN in July 2015. To put it bluntly: "My tie is made in China, and I am a businessman."

Responsible editor: Zhang Yingjian PO234