CHINA-US: TRUMP'S TIES WITH CHINESE COMPANY
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Bloomberg reported on November 28, 2016, that the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., a state-controlled enterprise and the world’s biggest lender by assets, is due to renegotiate its lease at Trump Tower in Manhattan during Donald Trump’s presidency. The bank’s lease is slated to end in October 2019, adding its renewal to the list of potential conflicts of interest for president-elect Trump, who has vowed to slap steep tariffs on Chinese imports and declare China a currency manipulator. ICBC was Trump Tower’s largest office tenant as of 2012, occupying 11 percent of its office space, according to mortgage documents filed by Wells Fargo & Co. that year. (Comment: Analysts say this poses a potential conflict of interest for US President-elect Donald Trump. While presidents are exempt from many rules designed to prevent such conflicts, the U.S. Constitution bars all U.S. officials from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments under the so-called “emoluments” clause.)
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