Why This Chinese Billionaire Isn’t Worried About Donald Trump

November 29, 2016

Fosun Group chairman Guo Guangchang is hopeful that President-elect Donald Trump will not engage in a trade war with China because of both countries’ common interests.

“I’m actually optimistic about the changes a businessman-turned president will bring to America,” Guangchang said in an interview with Bloomberg on November 23. “I believe the leaders of both countries are smart enough they’ll find the best way to cooperate.”

Trump talked a lot about China at the debates and on the campaign trail, from calling the nation a currency manipulator to threatening to impose 45% tariffs on imported products.

Dalian Wanda Group’s chairman and Hollywood mogul Wang Jianlin offered Trump a “warm congratulations” earlier in November, indicating that China’s tycoons are not worried about the president-elect’s most controversial ideas.

“Trump himself is a businessman. Businessmen follow the rule of maximizing profit through negotiations,” Guangchang said in the interview.

He told Bloomberg that Fosun — one of China’s biggest conglomerates and owner of Wall Street’s 28 Liberty building — would continue to invest in the U.S. and join forces with American firms.

In 2013, the company also bought One Chase Manhattan Plaza from JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $725 million, according to Asia Times.

Fosun International announced at least $13.3 billion of acquisitions overseas in the past five years, with $3.7 billion completed in the U.S., but no bids were made in the past year, according to Bloomberg data.

Guangchang said in May that he was going to focus more on emerging markets due to high prices in Europe and the U.S.

The 49-year-old billionaire business magnate also said that even if Trump wanted to move forward with some of the promises he made during his campaign, the U.S. system has many checks and balances that will bar him from carrying out his threats against China.

“I don’t think a president is free to do whatever he wants,” Guangchang said.

“The best thing about democracy is this balancing and self-correction mechanism. If a president doesn’t do a good job the people will vote him out,” he pointed out in the television interview, adding that he was “optimistic about the changes a businessman turned president will bring to America.”

Image via Flickr / Michael Vadon

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