The Chinese are trying to clandestinely grow their influence in the United States.
Florida is trying to counter this communist plot.
Now Ron DeSantis is preparing to give China a wake-up call with this bold move.
Florida is trying to stop Chinese influence in the state and cut its ties with the communist nation.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been leading the charge to fight back against China’s influence at the state level.
The Florida Legislature sent him another bill to sign to reduce the state’s exposure to Chinese businesses.
Florida passes bill to divest from hostile Chinese companies
The Florida State House and State Senate unanimously passed a bill to require that the state drop any investments in Chinese companies owned by the country’s communist government.
HB 7071 would require that the State Board of Administration come up with a plan by September 1 to sell off its holdings in companies that the Chinese Community Party (CCP), the Chinese military, or the Chinese government have a majority ownership stake in.
Selling off the Chinese holdings would have to take place within one year of the plan being implemented.
Florida preparing to dump its holding in Chinese government-connected companies
With the expectation that DeSantis will sign the bill into law, managers of Florida’s public investments are making plans to sell off their Chinese government-owned holdings.
State Board of Administration interim executive director Lamar Taylor said during a meeting of the agency’s Investment Advisory Council that Florida does not have many investments in Chinese companies that fit the bill.
“The exposure is not very high for a number of reasons,” Taylor said. “But it is something that we will implement once that bill is, presumably it will be signed or will become law here soon.”
The State Board of Administration has about $225.4 billion in assets, with 84% being in the Florida Retirement System for the state’s public employees.
Taylor said that divesting from companies with more than 50% Chinese government ownership would be a “fairly ascertainable standard.”
“There’s a number of (outside) service providers that we can look to, to help us identify those companies so that we can implement that from a compliance process,” Taylor said.
Taylor added that Florida only has about $300 million in current exposure to Chinese companies that fit the criteria.
Research by the Florida House found that the state had investments in about 200 Chinese government-owned companies.
Florida has put similar investment restrictions in place against Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Venezuela.
DeSantis has been trying to cut the state’s ties with the Chinese.
In 2023, he signed a bill that banned Chinese nationals and citizens of other “foreign countries of concern” from buying real estate in Florida.
While the federal government is asleep at the switch from the threat posed by China, Ron DeSantis is stepping up and taking action on the state level.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
