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US President Donald Trump with China's President Xi Jinping
Photo: Susan Walsh / AP
According to a media report, US President Donald Trump has pursued business interests in China for years - and still has a bank account in the People's Republic.
The "New York Times" reports and relies on tax documents.
The bank account does not appear in publicly available listings of Trump's personal assets, according to the report, as it is operated under the company name Trump International Hotels Management.
The hotel company is also said to have operated an office in China during his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election to "explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia," said Alan Garten, attorney for the Trump Organization, of the New York Times.
The company is said to have cooperated closely with a large company controlled by the Beijing government.
Trump's hotel company paid taxes worth more than $ 188,000 in China between 2013 and 2015 and conducted license negotiations there.
In the past, Trump had repeatedly criticized US companies doing business in China.
Under his motto "America First", the President had already launched an election campaign in 2016 with sharp anti-China rhetoric and described the People's Republic as the greatest threat to the USA and the Western democratic system.
Trump's tenure so far has been shaped by the trade conflict with Beijing and the president's actions against Chinese tech companies.
In addition, he repeatedly accuses his Democratic challenger Joe Biden of a weak attitude towards Beijing in the election campaign.
The Trump office in China should no longer be active
The lawyer for the entire Trump organization, Alan Garten, told the newspaper that the bank account was opened at a Chinese bank with branches in the United States in order to be able to pay taxes in China.
Since 2015, however, "no deals, no transactions or other business activities" have taken place in the Trump company in China.
The company's office in China is also inactive.
The paper also reported on accounts in the UK and Ireland.
These went through companies operating Trump's golf courses in Scotland and Ireland.
It is unclear how much money has flowed through the foreign accounts.
The New York Times previously reported that Trump only paid $ 750 federal income tax in the US in 2016 and 2017, despite the fact that the former entrepreneur always boasts of his wealth.
Ordinarily, presidential candidates publish their tax returns during election campaigns.
Trump has not yet done this and justifies this with the fact that the tax authorities checked his books.
Biden had published his tax return voluntarily.
These indicated no business relations with China.
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hej / dpa / AFP
