The Trump Family's Shady Dealings with the Chinese Communist Party
In 2017, while Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were dining with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, Ivanka surprisingly received three new trademarks from the Chinese Communist Party. This might seem like a coincidence, but it was just the beginning of a series of potentially shady dealings between the Trump family and the Chinese government.
Fast forward to late 2018, and both Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka received a total of 18 trademarks from the Chinese government. Two of these trademarks went to DTTM Operations LLC, which is Donald Trump's company, while the other 16 went to Ivanka Trump. This is an astonishing number of trademarks to receive in such a short amount of time, and it's worth noting that it normally takes 18-24 months for a trademark registration application to be issued. Ivanka's trademarks, on the other hand, took just about a third to a half of that time to be approved.
The trademarks that Ivanka received covered a wide range of products, including fashion gear, handbags, shoes, jewelry, and even voting machines. Meanwhile, the two trademarks that went to DTTM Operations LLC were for a branded restaurant and bar, hotel services, as well as clothing and shoes.
During Trump's presidency, there were dozens of trademarks approved which he had applied for. All of these trademarks were awarded by the Chinese Communist Party, and they could retract them at any time for whatever reason they wanted. This was, and still is, a concerning fact, considering the tense relationship between the US and China during Trump's presidency.
What's even more concerning is that five of the trademarks that Ivanka received initial approval for from the Chinese Communist Party came just days before President Trump announced a surprising U-turn in policy concerning Chinese company ZTE. ZTE was caught breaking US sanctions with Iran and North Korea and is partially owned by the Chinese government. Even Trump's own FCC deemed it a "U.S. national security threat." In April of 2017, the US government said ZTE misled regulators after settling charges of violating sanctions with Iran and North Korea. Consequently, The Trump administration banned sales by American companies to ZTE for seven years.
But just a month later, on May 7, 2017, Ivanka received five trademark approvals from the Chinese Communist Party. And then just a week later, on May 13, 2017, Trump surprisingly announced he had demanded that the U.S. Department of Commerce help ZTE get "back into business." This move was met with criticism from US officials, including many Republicans in congress who were against Trump's lifting of the ban. Republican senator Marco Rubio was outraged and said that ZTE should not be operating in America.
It's worth noting that the Chinese Communist Party has been known to exploit valuable rights like trademarks and patents for political leverage. By awarding so many trademarks to the Trump family, it's possible that they were attempting to gain favor with the US President and his family. It's also worth considering that these trademarks were approved by the Chinese Communist Party while Trump was threatening a trade war with China.
The crucial inquiry that must be posed, and one that may seem evident to certain observers, is whether the trademarks acquired by the Trump family had any influence on the former president's stance towards China and their state-owned enterprise ZTE. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party awarded so many trademarks to the Trump family raises questions about the potential conflicts of interest and shady dealings during Trump's presidency. These trademarks are just one example of the numerous ethical issues that have been raised about the Trump family's business dealings and potential conflicts of interest during their time in the White House.
