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WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — President Joe Biden’s foreign policy team has added a BlackRock executive who supports heavy investments in China.

The U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board added Tom Donilon, a former national security adviser to President Barack Obama, to its roster on June 17.

Donilon chairs the Blackrock Investment Institute, which provides insights on investments. One investment BlackRock sells is a new mutual fund in China. BlackRock is closely tied to the World Economic Forum

“The firm listed U.S.-Chinese competition as a factor that could hurt its revenue and profit,” The Washington Free Beacon reported. “BlackRock opened a mutual fund in China in September, making it the first American firm approved to sell financial products there.”

Donilon opposed tariffs on China during the Trump administration – and his commentary on the subject drew praise from the Chinese Communist Party’s China Daily website.

The executive’s essay argued that the U.S. “should be investing in science, technology, education and infrastructure, and upgrading the country’s infrastructure and preparing it for the era of high-speed rail, electric vehicles, and self-driving cars,” according to China Daily’s paraphrase.

Donilon also argued that the U.S. should focus on “renewal” of the American economy without engaging too harshly with China.

The Free Beacon explained further some of the problems with Donilon’s appointment:

The Foreign Affairs Policy Board plays a crucial role at the State Department. The department says the board is “necessary to supplement the advice and support the Secretary gets from the Department” on a broad range of international issues. Its meetings are closed to the public due to “discussions on sensitive, and often classified, topics and materials.”

Tariffs are likely to be an area of focus for the board, as will the administration’s position on China’s human rights record and increased military activity in the Pacific and South China Sea. Blinken has accused Beijing of waging genocide against Muslims in western China. Other officials, including climate envoy John Kerry, have refused to confront Chinese leaders on the topic for fear of hurting cooperative efforts on climate change.

Biden has frequently called on the Donilon family to serve in his administration. Donilon’s wife, Catherine Russell, directed the personnel office for the Biden administration. Tom’s brother Mike is also an adviser to Biden.

Sarah Donilon, Tom’s daughter, works for the Biden administration’s National Security Council. She took the job after graduating in 2019 from Yale with a history degree.

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