China’s Blackstone Coup

China’s $3 billion investment in the Blackstone Group, while insignificant relative to China’s $1.3 trillion of reserve assets is a test run for a new strategy of gaining small and indirect ownership stakes in a great many US enterprises. China will thus gain a measure of risk diversification, reduce the price pressure that has kept earnings on its foreign exchange reserves low, and avoid running into political trouble.

When China National Offshore Oil Company tried to buy America’s UNOCAL two years ago, it set off a political firestorm in the United States. When Dubai Ports World bought Britain’s P&O Steam Navigation Company, the fact that P&O operated ports inside the US led to more controversy in America.

https://prosyn.org/c0Wyocx