Five States Order Government To Divest From Communist China

JULY 28, 2024

Five States Order Government To Divest From Communist China

Five Republican-led states have ordered their state employee pension funds to completely divest from communist China over the past year, while several more are considering following their example.

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Amid ongoing tension between communist China and the United States, there has been demand from the American people to get rid of Chinese influence over our economy. With Chinese social media app TikTok spying on Americans and pushing destructive ideologies on our children, as well as China’s continued efforts to purchase farmland in the U.S., it is clear that the communist country does not have Americans’ best interests at heart.

China is also reportedly preparing for an increasingly unstable relationship with the U.S., according to a recent warning issued to lawmakers by U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Now, five states have taken the initiative to remove Chinese influence over employees’ pensions — including Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. These Republican-led states have been leading the calls to divest from China, fearing that escalating tensions — including a potential conflict between China and Taiwan that could pull the U.S. to war — may lead to the communist nation freezing U.S. assets.

Speaking with Politico, Indiana state Sen. Chris Garten (R) declared that his state’s measure to divest from China, which he co-sponsored, “is a great issue for folks to put politics aside, circle the wagons and say ‘We’re going to stand against the Communist Chinese Party and all the threats they pose to our nation.’”

In 2023, Indiana passed its law prohibiting the state from investing in Chinese entities, but the state pension funds have only just begun to divest. Missouri’s law was also passed last year.The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which is the primary U.S. federal pension fund, announced in November 2023 that it would also be stopping investment in China.

In June 2024, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) ordered his state agencies to begin preparing plans to divest from China, noting that he wanted Oklahoma to be prepared if tensions with China escalate. Stitt also proposed other measures to protect Oklahomans’ tax dollars from “Chinese aggression.”

“President Xi is looking at Taiwan and wants to have a united China at some point,” the Republican governor said. “I’m just trying to protect my state. … If something does come up [in the Indo-Pacific], I want to know what the exposure is to our pension plan.”

Meanwhile, Kansas’ law is even more broad than the rest, as the state has required pension funds to divest from several different hostile foreign countries, including China, Russia, Cuba and Iran. While Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) refused to sign the measure, it was still able to take effect.