White House cuts off savings fund’s investment in China stocks

The Trump administration moved on Monday night to block investments in Chinese stocks by a government retirement savings fund. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien made the administration’s wishes known in a letter to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move was made as President Donald Trump,as recently as a press conference on Monday, has faulted China over the spread of the coronavirus, and as questions have arisen over how faithfully the Beijing government will adhere to a recent trade agreement between the two countries. Scalia then sent a letter to Michael Kennedy, the chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, telling him to “halt all steps” associated with putting government employees’ money in a fund that included stakes in Chinese companies, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Bloomberg News.