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“Prior to its creation, in December 2013 and one month after the shareholders signed contracts relating to the creation of the company, Hunter Biden reportedly flew aboard Air Force Two with then-Vice President Biden to Beijing. While in China, Hunter Biden reportedly helped arrange for Li to “shake hands” with Vice President Biden. Afterward, Hunter Biden met with Li for what was reportedly a “social meeting.” After the China trip, BHR’s business license was reportedly approved.“ See: “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impacton U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns By U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Majority Staff Report https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf (More excerpts and references below)

While this is important news about the Cobalt mine, the question remains why the New York Times propaganda rag “newspaper of record” suddenly pretends to care about this? Was NYT owner Carlos Slim competing for the mine? Is it part of a plan to oust Joe Biden and replace him with Kamala Harris? A diversion, getting ahead of something related, or what? This? https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2021/11/22/us-senators-grassley-johnson-ask-doj-about-surveillance-of-biden-family-business-partner-new-document-shows-direct-ties-between-hunter-biden-and-chinese-government-linked-businessman-nov-15-2/

As reported on Saturday by the New York Times in “How Hunter Biden’s Firm Helped Secure Cobalt for the Chinese: The president’s son was part owner of a venture involved in the $3.8 billion purchase by a Chinese conglomerate of one of the world’s largest cobalt deposits. The metal is a key ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles”. By Michael Forsythe, Eric Lipton and Dionne Searcey Nov. 20, 2021: “By the time BHR sold its share in 2019, Mr. Biden controlled 10 percent of the firm through Skaneateles L.L.C., a company based in Washington…”. https://archive.md/n9ePu

“Hunter Biden has been a member of the board of BHR since it was formed in late 2013. In October 2017, after his father had left the vice presidency, he bought 10 percent of the firm, investing the equivalent of $420,000…. Although BHR has been involved in a number of business deals,” Hunter’s lawyer claimed in 2019 that “there have been no distributions to the shareholders since Hunter has been an equity owner.” (“What We Know About Hunter Biden’s Business in China” By Sharon LaFraniere and Michael Forsythe, Oct. 3, 2019, New York Times: https://archive.md/jg6li )

Excerpts regarding BHR from: “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns” U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Majority Staff Report https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf
“The Chairmen’s investigation into potential conflicts of interest began in August 2019, with Chairman Grassley’s letter to the Department of Treasury regarding potential conflicts of interest with respect to Obama administration policy relating to the Henniges transaction.1

During the Obama administration, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved a transaction that gave control over Henniges, an American maker of anti-vibration technologies with military applications, to a Chinese government-owned aviation company and a China-based investment firm with established ties to the Chinese government. One of the companies involved in the Henniges transaction was a billion-dollar private investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST (BHR). BHR was formed in November 2013 by a merger between the Chinese-government-linked firm Bohai Capital and a company named Rosemont Seneca Partners. Rosemont Seneca was formed in 2009 by Hunter Biden, the son of then-Vice President Joe Biden, by Chris Heinz, the stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry, and others.2 …

In 2012, Archer and Biden reportedly spoke with Jonathan Li of the Chinese private equity fund Bohai Capital about the possibility of forming a company, Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Co. (BHR), that would invest Chinese capital in companies outside of China.331 BHR was eventually formed as an investment fund and is reportedly “controlled and funded primarily by large Chinese government-owned shareholders” and is 80% controlled by Chinese entities.332 That list of entities includes the government’s postal savings bank, with which Hunter Biden had networked in 2011, its main development bank, as well as the Bank of China.333 Hunter Biden served on its board of directors and “joined based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese capital to international markets.”334 He served unpaid but reportedly acquired a 10% stake in the company in 2017.335

Prior to its creation, in December 2013 and one month after the shareholders signed contracts relating to the creation of the company, Hunter Biden reportedly flew aboard Air Force Two with then-Vice President Biden to Beijing.336 While in China, Hunter Biden reportedly helped arrange for Li to “shake hands” with Vice President Biden.337 Afterward, Hunter Biden met with Li for what was reportedly a “social meeting.”338 After the China trip, BHR’s business license was reportedly approved.339

In September 2014, BHR had become a private equity shareholder in Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding Company Limited, a subsidiary of Sinopec.340 Sinopec is reportedly the second largest oil and gas company in China and the largest refiner of oil in Asia.341 In 2016, Ye announced at a board meeting that he wanted CEFC “to become a second Sinopec … by acquiring global assets and consolidating ‘teapot’ [independent] refineries.”342 Hunter Biden’s position of influence and connections to Chinese business interests, which were further strengthened while his father was vice president, most likely appealed to Ye, a man who The New York Times has since described as “[wanting] access to the corridors of power in Washington.”343

BHR’s extensive connections to Chinese government intertwined its existence with the decision-making of Communist party rulers. For example, the China Development Bank (CDB) is one member of a consortium that controls 30% of BHR.344 Other members of that particular consortium are the government’s postal savings bank and the Bank of China.345

Importantly, the CDB appears to have been connected to Ye Jianming’s CEFC. Records acquired by the Committees note that, according to reports, after CEFC and Ye fell out of favor with the Chinese government in 2018, “at the orders of President Xi Jinping, China Development Bank abruptly pulled its lines of credit on offshore bonds for CEFC[.]”346

Moreover, the former chairman of the CDB, Hu Huaibang, was accused in a 2018 court case of helping a CEFC subsidiary to obtain billions in financing during his time at the CDB and of channeling bribes on behalf of Ye while serving in a previous position at the Bank of Communications, another Chinese government entity.347

Hunter Biden’s business associations in China were not limited to investment funds like BHR and those additional connections created questionable associations with Communist government elements. For example, in 2015, while his father was vice president, Hunter Biden reportedly met with an aide to Ye.348 In addition to the Communist government, Ye also had reported connections and affiliations to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).349 For example, from 2003 to 2005, Ye reportedly served as deputy secretary general of the China Association for International Friendly Contacts (CAIFC), which is the public name for the PLA General Political Department’s International Liaison Department.350 Additionally, in 2014, under Ye’s leadership, CE Fund had co-organized events with the China Huayi Broadcasting Corporation (CHBC), a company incorporated by the PLA General Political Department.351 The CEO of CHBC, Wang Shu, was commander of the PLA General Political Department base “[a]t the forefront of applied psychological operations and propaganda directed against Taiwan,” which was managed by a training center that was funded by a subsidiary of CEFC.352 The general manager of that subsidiary, Lan Huasheng, was deputy secretary general of Ye’s CE Fund.353

Wang reportedly attended the 2014 CE Fund and CHBC event along with Xu Jialu, a man who was associated with the PLA’s CAIFC as well as CE Fund and China’s Confucius Institutes.354 Huasheng served as executive director of CE Fund’s China Institute of Culture Limited (CIOC), “a nationally supported organization in charge of ‘promoting Chinese culture.’”355 Accordingly, Ye and his associates had robust relationships with China’s military units, some of which were involved in matters in direct opposition to U.S. policy in the region.

It is unclear whether Hunter Biden was aware of Ye’s close relationship with the PLA or involvement in efforts to develop and spread Chinese propaganda at the time of his 2015 meeting with Ye’s associate. However, public reporting did make those connections.356

Hunter Biden’s connections with Ye continued into the summer of 2017, when he met with Ye while soliciting donations for World Food Program USA in his capacity as a member of its board of directors.357 At the time, Ye continued to operate the CE Fund, which has since been found to have engaged in criminal activities.358 During their interactions in 2017, Hunter Biden reportedly agreed to assist Ye by using his contacts to help Ye locate potential investments for CEFC in the United States.359 In keeping with that agreement, after meeting Ye, Hunter Biden stated that he began working on a deal for Ye that involved a $40 million investment in a natural gas project on Monkey Island in Louisiana that reportedly fell through the following year.360

Around the same time that Hunter Biden began this work, Ye raised concerns with Hunter Biden that one of his associates, Patrick Ho, was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement.361

Hunter Biden subsequently agreed to represent Ho.362

On Sept. 8, 2017, a $9.1 billion deal was announced whereby Ye’s company, CEFC, would acquire a stake in the state-owned Russian energy company, Rosneft.363 Ye’s efforts to acquire a stake in Rosneft appear fully consistent with his vision of turning CEFC into a “second Sinopec” with holdings across the world.364

ii. Hunter Biden and his Family had Extensive Financial Connections to Ye Jianming, Gongwen Dong and other Chinese Nationals.

On the same day that the impending Rosneft deal was announced, Hunter Biden and Gongwen Dong, a Chinese national who has reportedly executed transactions for limited liability companies controlled by Ye Jianming, applied to a bank and opened a line of credit under the business name Hudson West III LLC (Hudson West III).365 Hunter Biden, James Biden, and James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden, were all authorized users of credit cards associated with the account.366 The Bidens subsequently used the credit cards they opened to purchase $101,291.46 worth of extravagant items, including airline tickets and multiple items at Apple Inc. stores, pharmacies, hotels and restaurants.367 The cards were collateralized by transferring $99,000 from a Hudson West III account to a separate account, where the funds were held until the cards were closed.368 The transaction was identified for potential financial criminal activity. The Committees prepared the following chart which displays transactions related to the line of credit..”

SEE FOOTNOTE REFERENCES AT BLOG POST BOTTOM AND AT ORIGINAL: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf

Excerpts from the lengthy New Yorker article referenced above and in the recent New York Times article. There’s a lot on Burisma, too. However, one must scroll down and scan through the lengthy article to get to the important stuff: “In September, 2008, Hunter launched a boutique consulting firm, Seneca Global Advisors, named for the largest of the Finger Lakes, in New York State, where his mother had grown up… In June, 2009, five months after Joe Biden became Vice-President, Hunter co-founded a second company, Rosemont Seneca Partners, with Christopher Heinz, Senator John Kerry’s stepson and an heir to the food-company fortune, and Devon Archer, a former Abercrombie & Fitch model who started his finance career at Citibank in Asia and who had been friends with Heinz at Yale. (Heinz and Archer already had a private-equity fund called Rosemont Capital.) Heinz believed that Hunter would share his aversion to entering into business deals that could attract public scrutiny, but over time Hunter and Archer seized opportunities that did not include Heinz, who was less inclined to take risks.

In 2012, Archer and Hunter talked to Jonathan Li, who ran a Chinese private-equity fund, Bohai Capital, about becoming partners in a new company that would invest Chinese capital—and, potentially, capital from other countries—in companies outside China. In June, 2013, Li, Archer, and other business partners signed a memorandum of understanding to create the fund, which they named BHR Partners, and, in November, they signed contracts related to the deal. Hunter became an unpaid member of BHR’s board but did not take an equity stake in BHR Partners until after his father left the White House.” [i.e. 2017]

“In December, 2013, Vice-President Biden flew to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping. Biden often asked one of his grandchildren to accompany him on his international trips, and he invited Finnegan to come on this one. Hunter told his father that he wanted to join them. According to a Beijing-based BHR representative, Hunter, shortly after arriving in Beijing, on December 4th, helped arrange for Li to shake hands with his father in the lobby of the American delegation’s hotel. Afterward, Hunter and Li had what both parties described as a social meeting…. former senior White House aide told me that Hunter’s behavior invited questions about whether he “was leveraging access for his benefit, which just wasn’t done in that White House…” Small excerpt from: “Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize His Father’s Campaign? Joe Biden’s son is under scrutiny for his business dealings and tumultuous personal life”. By Adam Entous July 1, 2019, The New Yorker https://archive.md/v0f7t

“The Senate Finance Committee has broad jurisdiction over the United States Government and, the Department of Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which includes oversight jurisdiction over potential financial crimes.  A copy of the full report is available here”. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/download/hsgac-finance-report

“Copies of the investigation’s interview transcripts and exhibits are available here”. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/hunter-biden-burisma-and-corruption-the-impact-on-us-government-policy-and-related-concerns

Footnotes from: “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns” By U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Majority Staff Report https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf

Footnotes
“1. Press Release, Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., Grassley Raises Concerns Over Obama Admin Approval of U.S. Tech Company Joint Sale to Chinese Government and Investment Firm Linked to Biden, Kerry Families (Aug. 15, 2019), https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/grassley-raises-concerns-over-obama-admin-approval-of-us-tech-company-joint-sale-to-chinese-government-and-investment-firm-linked-to-biden-kerry-families.
2. 2 Peter Schweizer, Inside the Shady Private Equity Firm Run by Kerry and Biden’s Kids, NEW YORK POST (Mar. 15, 2018), https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/inside-the-shady-private-equity-firm-run-by-kerry-and-bidens-kids/; Peter Schweizer, The Troubling Reason Why Biden is so Soft on China, NEW YORK POST (May 11, 2019), https://nypost.com/2019/05/11/the-troubling-reason-why-biden-is-so-soft-on-china/; Tom Llamas et al., Biden Sidesteps Questions About His Son’s Foreign Business Dealings but Promises Ethics Pledge, ABC NEWS (June 20, 2019), https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-sidesteps-questions-sons-foreign-business-dealings-promises/story?id=63820806 (Stating that Hunter Biden was a managing partner at Rosemont Seneca Partners.)…..
329 Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newscount.asp?ArticleID=282. (Translation provided by Google.). 330 See id. 331 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize his Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019), https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/08/will-hunter-biden-jeopardize-his-fathers-campaign. 332 See James T. Areddy, What We Know About Hunter Biden’s Dealings in China, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (Oct. 4, 2019), https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-we-know-about-hunter-bidens-dealings-in-china-11570181403. 333 See James T. Areddy, What We Know About Hunter Biden’s Dealings in China, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (Oct. 4, 2019), https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-we-know-about-hunter-bidens-dealings-in-china-11570181403; see also Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newscount.asp?ArticleID=282.
334 Katie Glueck, Hunter Biden to Leave Chinese Company Board, Addressing Appearance of a Conflict, THE NEW YORK TIMES
(Oct. 13, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/us/politics/hunter-biden-china.html. 335 Id. 336 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize his Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019), https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/08/will-hunter-biden-jeopardize-his-fathers-campaign. 337 Id. 338 Id. 339 Sharon LaFraniere and Michael Forsythe, What We know About Hunter Biden’s Business in China, THE NEW YORK TIMES
(Mar. 6, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/us/politics/hunter-biden-china.html. 340 Team, BHR Partners, https://web.archive.org/web/20180404080538/http://en.bhrpe.com/newsitem/276817011. 341 Chen Aizhu, China’s CEFC courts ‘teapots’ for first domestic refinery acquisition, REUTERS (Mar. 10, 2017), https://de.reuters.com/article/us-china-m-a-cefc-idUSKBN16H0G4. 342 Id. 343 Alexandra Stevenson, David Barboza, Matthew Goldstein, and Paul Mozur, A Chinese Tycoon Sought Power and Influence. Washington Responded., THE NEW YORK TIMES (Dec. 12, 2018), https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/cefc-biden-china-washington-ye-jianming.html. 344 James T. Areddy, What We Know About Hunter Biden’s Dealings in China, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (Oct. 4, 2019), https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-we-know-about-hunter-bidens-dealings-in-china-11570181403. 345 See id. 346 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 7 (on file with Comms.).
347 Tony Munroe, Cheng Leng, Engen Tham and Min Zhang, Ex-chairman of China Development Bank under probe by graft-buster, REUTERS (July 31, 2019), https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-corruption/ex-chairman-of-china-development-bank-under-probe-by-graft-buster-idUKKCN1UQ0M3. 348 Alexandra Stevenson, David Barboza, Matthew Goldstein, and Paul Mozur, A Chinese Tycoon Sought Power and Influence. Washington Responded., THE NEW YORK TIMES (Dec. 12, 2018), https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/cefc-biden-china-washington-ye-jianming.html. (The name of Ye’s aide and the exact date of the meeting have not been publically reported. The aforementioned meeting, and another meeting between Hunter Biden and Ye that took place in May 2017, were confirmed by “people with direct knowledge of the meetings who were not authorized to speak publicly because the meetings were private.”). 349 J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/unstoppable-chinas-secret-plan-subvert-taiwan-12463. 350 See J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/unstoppable-chinas-secret-plan-subvert-taiwan-12463; see also International Liaison Department [China Association for International Friendly Contacts] General Political Department, FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS (Nov. 26, 1997), https://fas.org/irp/world/china/pla/gpd_ild.htm. 351 J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/unstoppable-chinas-secret-plan-subvert-taiwan-12463. 352 Id. 353 Id. 354 J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/unstoppable-chinas-secret-plan-subvert-taiwan-12463. (According to records on file with the Committees, it appears that Gongwen Dong, a mutual associate of Ye Jianming, James Biden, Sara Biden, and Hunter Biden, recently contributed to the Confucius Foundation Inc. On July 29, 2019, there was a wire for $5,000 from a Golden Coast Asset Management LLC account that is linked to both Gongwen Dong and Shan Gao to the Confucius Foundation Inc. with memo, “Gongwen Dong.”) CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 8 (on file with Comms.). 355 J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/unstoppable-chinas-secret-plan-subvert-taiwan-12463.
356 See id. 357 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize His Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019), https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/08/will-hunter-biden-jeopardize-his-fathers-campaign. 358 See Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Just., Former Head of Organization Backed by Chinese Energy Conglomerate Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for International Bribery and Money Laundering Offenses (Mar. 25, 2019), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-head-organization-backed-chinese-energy-conglomerate-sentenced-three-years-prison. 359 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize His Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019), https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/08/will-hunter-biden-jeopardize-his-fathers-campaign. 360 Id. 361 Id. 362 Id. 363 Olesya Astakhova and Chen Aizhu, China invests $9.1 billion in Rosneft as Glencore, Qatar cut stakes REUTERS (Sept. 8, 2017), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rosneft-cefc-glencore/china-invests-9-1-billion-in-rosneft-as-glencore-qatar-cut-stakes-idUSKCN1BJ1HT. 364 See Chen Aizhu, China’s CEFC courts ‘teapots’ for first domestic refinery acquisition, REUTERS (Mar. 10, 2017), https://de.reuters.com/article/us-china-m-a-cefc-idUSKBN16H0G4. 365 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 9 (on file with Comms.); see also Katherine Clarke, A Top Chinese Oilman Vanishes, and a Manhattan Buying Binge Ends, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (Oct. 25, 2018), https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-top-chinese-oilman-vanishes-and-a-manhattan-buying-binge-ends-1540478781.
366 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 9 (on file with Comms.).
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf”
See too: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/hunter-biden-burisma-and-corruption-the-impact-on-us-government-policy-and-related-concerns