Hunter Biden's Firm Helped Chinese Company In $3.8 Billion Deal Over Electric Car Mineral
Nov. 21 2021, Published 5:14 p.m. ET
Hunter Biden's investment firm helped the U.S. frenemy China to control the electric-car mineral industry by brokering a deal in 2016 that resulted in the communist country owning a large African mine abundant with cobalt.
Cobalt is a chemical element that is one of the key ingredients to producing batteries for electric vehicles.
The Washington Free Beacon first reported the news during the 2020 presidential campaign, but the story was brought back to light on Saturday by the New York Times.
This comes as Congress is getting closer to agreeing on President Joe Biden's $2 trillion social spending plan that allocated billions of dollars towards promoting electric vehicles in the US.
In June, the White House claimed China's domination of the mineral "presents a critical vulnerability to the future of the U.S. domestic auto industry" as the mine sold to the country is reportedly one of the largest sources of cobalt. The field is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The sale negotiated by Hunter's firm occurred while his father, Biden, was serving as vice president under the Obama administration.
Hunter joined the board of the firm by purchasing a 10 percent stake in the company in 2017. Several Chinese partners also reportedly founded the firm, and the board members, including Hunter, were involved in a complicated transaction valued at $3.8 billion.
Reports indicated that 80 percent of Congo's Tenke Fungurum mine from an American company was transferred into Beijing-backed China Molybdenum.
However, according to the White House, Biden was not aware that his son was involved