{"id":2393050,"date":"2025-01-21T06:10:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T11:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-lobbying-firm-supporting-china-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-21T06:10:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T11:10:55","slug":"trump-lobbying-firm-supporting-china-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-lobbying-firm-supporting-china-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump lobbying firm supporting China &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-lobbying-firm-supporting-china-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2393050&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses Ballard\u2063 Partners, a lobbying firm closely \u200bassociated with former \u2062President Donald Trump, \u2062which has registered too represent Pirelli Tire, a \u200bcompany with partial ownership by the Chinese \u2062government \u2062through the China\u2062 National Chemical Corporation\u2062 (Sinochem). Despite Pirelli being \u2062based in Italy, the firm highlights\u200b concerns regarding\u200c its links \u2062to\u200c Chinese\u200d state interests, particularly as the China National Chemical Corporation is \u200bon the U.S. Department of\u2062 Defense&#8217;s entity list, implying \u2064connections\u2063 to the Chinese military.<\/p>\n<p>Ballard\u200d Partners, \u2063led by veteran lobbyist brian Ballard, appointed \u200cHunter \u200cMorgen, a \u2063former Trump administration aide, to advocate for Pirelli.\u200d The firm claims \u2063that Sinochem&#8217;s role is limited due to\u200c Italy&#8217;s regulatory framework, \u2062asserting that\u200c it has no decision-making\u2062 power in Pirelli&#8217;s operations.<\/p>\n<p>The article underscores the extensive ties between Ballard Partners and Trump, noting\u200b that \u2064many former Republican\u200c officials from \u2062the firm \u200bare positioned within the current Trump administration.This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/coldest-winter-ever-joins-genocide-pandemic-on-list-of-china-olympics-woes\/\" title=\"&#039;Coldest Winter Ever&#039; Joins Genocide, Pandemic on List of China Olympics Woes\">situation raises questions<\/a> about the influence of lobbying \u2063firms linked to foreign interests\u200c on\u2063 U.S. policies, especially given the overlapping interests of\u200d corporate America and the \u2063Trump\u2062 administration.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Lobbying firm with close ties to Trump working to enrich Chinese government<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1910509\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Days before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"President Donald Trump\">President Donald Trump<\/a> was set to take his oath of office, the lobbying outfit many insiders view as a direct line to Trump filed paperwork to represent a corporation partially owned by the Chinese government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Ballard Partners, a firm headed by veteran lobbyist and Trump ally Brian Ballard, registered to lobby on behalf of &#8203;Pirelli Tire effective December 2024, public records released on Jan. 17 <a href=\"https:\/\/lda.senate.gov\/filings\/public\/filing\/2a21aa8c-97f2-420d-bd7b-1e1ec96e6e27\/print\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">show<\/a>. &#8203;Pirelli Tire, though based in Italy, counts the state-owned &#8203;China National Chemical Corporation as its single largest shareholder, positioning the Chinese government to profit from the arrangement. In addition to being state-owned, &#8203;China National Chemical Corporation also <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2025\/Jan\/07\/2003625471\/-1\/-1\/1\/ENTITIES-IDENTIFIED-AS-CHINESE-MILITARY-COMPANIES-OPERATING-IN-THE-UNITED-STATES.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">appears<\/a> on the Department of Defense&rsquo;s 1260h entity list, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/USCODE-2020-title10\/html\/USCODE-2020-title10-subtitleA-partI-chap2-sec113.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">meaning<\/a> that it is &ldquo;directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or beneficially owned by&rdquo; the Chinese military or that it is a &ldquo;military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&#8203;China National Chemical Corporation holds a 37% stake in Pirelli, according to lobbying disclosures. In addition to the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">state-owned chemical conglomerate&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s ownership share, the BBC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-65947050\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reported<\/a> in June 2023 that the Chinese government&rsquo;s Silk Road investment fund owns a further 9% stake in Pirelli. Ballard Partners has registered to represent the Italian tire company on &ldquo;issues regarding trade\/tariffs.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump was responsible for the United States&rsquo;s initial designation of &#8203;China National Chemical Corporation, with his DOD <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Newsroom\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/2328894\/dod-releases-list-of-additional-companies-in-accordance-with-section-1237-of-fy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">accusing<\/a> the company of having People&rsquo;s Liberation Army ties in August 2020. The president took his concern a step further in November of that year by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/12\/business\/economy\/trump-china-investment-ban.html\">iss<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/12\/business\/economy\/trump-china-investment-ban.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">u<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/12\/business\/economy\/trump-china-investment-ban.html\">ing<\/a> an executive order barring American businesses and individuals from owning shares in entities designated as Chinese military companies by the Pentagon. Sinochem, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-historic-investment-heres-whats-in-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-package\/\" title=\"A \u2018Historic Investment\u2019: Here\u2019s What\u2019s In The Bipartisan Infrastructure Package\">state-owned corporation<\/a> that <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220210201616\/https:\/\/www.sinochem.com\/newen\/17186.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">acquired<\/a> &#8203;China National Chemical Corporation in 2021, manufactures chemical products for military and civilian uses while prominently displaying a hammer and sickle on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sinochem.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">front page<\/a> of its website.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Pirelli Tire is subject to Italy&rsquo;s &lsquo;Golden Power&rsquo; rules, which in this instance limits Cinochem&rsquo;s role in Pirelli,&rdquo; a Ballard Partners spokesperson told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Cinochem is a silent partner with no decision-making power, board influence, or any influence on the leadership, decision-making, and operations of the company. We will work with any company where such restrictions apply or that seeks to free itself of control or ownership from state-owned Chinese companies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The firm is assigning <a href=\"https:\/\/ballardpartners.com\/team-member\/hunter-morgen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Hunter Morgen<\/a> to work on Pirelli&rsquo;s behalf. Morgen, a partner at the firm, is a veteran of the first Trump administration, in which he served as a special assistant to the president and as a senior adviser for policy, working closely with <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-transition-peter-navarro-nasa-isaacman-2566b318a1f82ad17d8d1abf17e9d218\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Peter Navarro<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/11\/11\/g-s1-33741\/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Stephen Miller<\/a>, two men who have secured prominent roles in the new Trump administration. Navarro specifically will be serving as a trade adviser, providing an opening for Morgen to advocate Pirelli.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment of a Trump insider to aid a firm partially owned by the Chinese government is illustrative of Ballard Partners&rsquo;s extensive links to Trumpworld. In addition to retaining numerous former high-level Republican aides as employees, Ballard Partners alumni are set to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/lobbying-firm-close-ties-trump-poised-profit-new\/story?id=116417198\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">occupy <\/a>top spots in the Trump administration with Susie Wiles named the president&rsquo;s chief of staff and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi securing the nomination for U.S. attorney general. <a href=\"https:\/\/ballardpartners.com\/team-member\/brian-d-ballard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Brian Ballard<\/a>, the firm&rsquo;s president, has a roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/magazine\/story\/2018\/04\/02\/most-powerful-lobbyist-in-trump-washington-217759\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">three-decade-long relationship<\/a> with Trump, working as a lobbyist for the Trump Organization long before the 2016 presidential election. Ballard was one of the top fundraisers for Trump&rsquo;s first campaign, in which he served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exodus-10-key-officials-in-kamala-harris-office-have-quit-in-just-14-months\/\" title=\"Exodus: 10 Key Officials In Kamala Harris\u2019 Office Have Quit In Just 14 Months\">top-level staffer<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Corporate America appears to buy into the idea that Ballard Partners has significant sway over Trump, with players such as Google, Amazon, Blackstone, the NBA, and Boeing, among many others, <a href=\"https:\/\/ballardpartners.com\/clients\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">turning<\/a> to the firm for representation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pirelli is not Ballard Partners&rsquo;s first client with links to the Chinese government. The firm, in 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/lda.senate.gov\/filings\/public\/filing\/4f8af4d1-2aa4-49e4-bb8c-1d14232cd8fc\/print\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">agreed<\/a> to lobby on behalf of REC Americas, which is fully owned by China National Bluestar, a wholly owned <a href=\"http:\/\/www.china-bluestar.com\/28092.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">subsidiary<\/a> of the state-owned chemical company Sinochem. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz&rsquo;s former chief of staff was deployed to aid the Chinese-controlled solar energy company in the area of trade. Years later, in December 2023, the firm <a href=\"https:\/\/lda.senate.gov\/filings\/public\/filing\/723b419d-b348-4485-9c12-5b8e19175f62\/print\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">filed paperwork<\/a> to represent &#8203;iGas USA, a Florida-based refrigerant company that Zhejiang Juhua, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cr-expo.com\/en\/zhanshangxx.aspx?id=18271&amp;zhid=14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Chinese government-endorsed<\/a> chemical manufacturer, held a 34% stake in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ballard Partners also represents the government of Turkey, per its website.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Most recently, Ballard Partners <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/politico-influence\/2024\/09\/11\/tiktok-hires-ballard-00178745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">made waves<\/a> by agreeing to represent TikTok in September 2024, a Chinese-owned social media platform that congressional China hawks targeted over <a href=\"https:\/\/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/gallagher-bipartisan-coalition-introduce-legislation-protect-americans-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">concerns<\/a> that it may hand over American data to the Chinese Communist Party. Trump recently bucked these hawks by <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-tiktok-ban-da11df6d59c17e2c17eea40c4042386d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">working with<\/a> TikTok to restore its service in the U.S. after legislation banning it went into effect.<\/p>\n<p>China hawks have tried to incentivize lobbyists to stop working with Chinese military companies, with mixed results. A provision in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, for instance, will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cov.com\/en\/news-and-insights\/insights\/2025\/01\/new-law-appears-to-restrict-defense-contractors-from-retaining-consultants-who-lobby-for-chinese-military-companies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">bar<\/a> defense contractors from doing business with any lobbying firm representing Pentagon-designated Chinese military companies when it takes effect in June 2026. Congressional offices have also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/politico-influence\/2024\/02\/21\/lobbyists-dump-chinese-clients-after-blacklist-threats-00142523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">threatened<\/a> to blacklist lobbyists working with firms linked to the Chinese armed forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1910509\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1910509\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lobbying firm linked to Trump seeks to benefit Chinese government<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2393051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/trump-tariffs.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4501,5246,4198,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2393050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-china","tag-firm","tag-lobbying","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/trump-tariffs.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2393050"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2393054,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2393050\/revisions\/2393054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2393051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2393050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2393050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2393050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}