Controversy Over Eric Trump's Visit to China Amid Trump Family's Consideration of Cooperation With Chinese Firm

Controversy has arisen as U.S. President Donald Trump's second son, Eric Trump, accompanies him on his visit to China. Although President Trump has been vocal about countering China, it has become known that a company associated with the Trump family is considering business cooperation with a Chinese firm. This has once again raised questions about the boundary between the presidency and the family’s business interests.

AP Yonhap News

The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 13th (local time) that a company linked to the Trump family is considering cooperating with a Chinese semiconductor firm to establish a data center in the United States, despite warnings from U.S. lawmakers that the Chinese company has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Alt5 Sigma, a Las Vegas-based fintech company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last month with the Chinese firm Nano Labs to build a data center in the United States. Alt5 Sigma is financially connected to World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's virtual asset business. Last year, Eric Trump was designated as an observer on the Alt5 Sigma board, a non-voting attendee. The chairman of Alt5 Sigma’s board, Jack Witkoff, is the son of Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.

Nano Labs is headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company has previously been placed under surveillance by the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Last year, the committee sent a letter to the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), expressing concerns that the interests of one of Nano Labs’ executives could "serve as a conduit between Chinese military interests and Western markets." The committee subsequently included Nano Labs on its list of "high-risk" companies. It argued that the companies on this list "advance the strategic objectives of the Chinese Communist Party and support military modernization, while benefiting from American investor capital."

A spokesperson for Eric Trump explained that his trip to China with the President is "in a personal capacity," adding that "he will not participate in any discussions or meetings related to any business entities." The spokesperson further stated that Eric Trump "is not conducting business in China and has no plans to do so."

Last year, Eric Trump told the FT that while the Trump Organization had business opportunities in China, it chose to avoid them. At the time, he said, "As you can imagine, there were countless opportunities to enter China." He added, "The Trump brand is very popular in China, but given the ongoing tariffs and trade war, we thought now was not the appropriate time."

As Alt5 Sigma negotiates with Nano Labs, the White House emphasized, in response to Eric Trump accompanying the President, that "President Trump acts solely in the best interests of the American people" and stressed, "There is no conflict of interest."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.