George Soros has criticized Black Rock’s approach to China as posing a risk to client money and US security interests, in the latest accusations by the billionaire and philanthropist against investing in the world’s second largest economy.

“Pushing billions of dollars into China right now is a tragic mistake,” Soros said in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. “Black Rock could potentially lose client money, and most importantly, “invest in China” would harm the national security interests of the states. United States and other democracies.

trend towards china

Black Rock is leading a global trend in the asset management industry in China. The world’s largest money management company last month began offering investment products to Chinese individuals, two months after gaining approval to become the country’s first wholly foreign-owned mutual fund company.

The article is one of many comments Soros has written in recent weeks to warn of closer economic ties with China under President Xi Jinping amid a wave of market crackdowns.

Soros criticized Xi in another opinion piece last month, calling him “the most dangerous enemy of open societies in the world” and later arguing in the Financial Times that Congress should enact legislation limiting investment by asset managers to “companies that are It has effective governance structures that are both transparent and compliant with stakeholders or shareholders.”

In the latest article, Soros said BlackRock appears to have misunderstood Xi, who said his administration views all Chinese companies as “tools of the one-party state.”

Beijing worries investors

Distinguishing views emerge from two of the world’s most influential money managers, as well as the increasingly fraught environment facing financial firms in Asia’s largest economy.

Whereas, Xi made it easier for foreign investors to enter local markets; His government is also tightening its grip on the private sector, clashing with the United States on all matters including cybersecurity and human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Soros said the restrictions that began with the sudden cancellation of Antgroup’s initial public offering last year “has reached a peak” since then.

Soros cited the actions against the ride-sharing company Didi Global days after its New York listing, and the crackdown on “US-funded” Chinese teaching firms.

Soros also said Black Rock managers should be aware of a “massive crisis brewing in China’s real estate market”.

Although Soros remains an influential supporter of President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, he no longer manages money abroad and is currently the minority vote on Wall Street.

BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and most of their major money management and banking peers see the opportunities in China outweigh the risks.

“Today, the United States and China are engaged in a life-and-death struggle between two regimes: repressive and democratic,” Soros said.