American Intelligence Probe of Personal Wealth of Communist China’s Top Leaders Could Strike a Nerve

Washington is taking another crack at the one thing that really scares Xi Jinping. America’s Intelligence Community is investigating the personal wealth of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party — that’s Mr. Xi — and the other six members of the Politburo Standing Committee along with the full 25-member Politburo. This year’s Intelligence Authorization Act requires the Director of National Intelligence to draft the report — and to look at assets, financial holdings, real estate, and business interests — to include those held outside Communist China. The report will also include the “cut outs” and “fronts” enabling and obscuring Mr. Xi and top officials’ ownership.The final report is due out later this year. Why is this so worrisome for Mr. Xi? The CCP and its cadres are supposed to be honest and egalitarian. It’s hard to explain away this sort of wealth. Mr. Xi’s salary doesn’t allow for it. And Mr. Xi has removed tens of thousands of Party officials on charges of “corruption.”Mr. Xi Jinping and the party’s elite can’t blame it on foreigners’ bullying and trying to contain China. Amassing this level of wealth is entirely their own accomplishment.Try explaining it to the 600 million Chinese citizens (by the CCP’s own admission) who live on $5 a day or less.An earlier, cursory, report from the Intelligence Community on this question failed to plumb the depths of the corruption of Mr. Xi and his camarilla. By contrast, the Congressional Research Service, in an earlier look at the subject in 2024, pegged Xi family holdings at more than $700 million. The Intelligence Community, though, with its $100 billion-a-year budget, can do much better. The Treasury Department often does excellent work and can help out as well. And there are some good private outfits doing this sort of research for a living.The report will presumably be better this time. More important, though, is what is done with it. The law calls for it to be posted on the DNI web site. That’s better than hushing it up and holding it in reserve in hopes of wielding some leverage over Mr. Xi and the CCP. That tactic will not change Chinese behavior — just as no forbearance shown the CCP ever has. As one example of many, note that successive American administrations’ longstanding refusal to make a real issue of Chinese-origin fentanyl precursors that have killed over 800,000 Americans hasn’t had any positive effect on a problem that China could stop in an afternoon. The CCP just pockets the favors and continues its war against us. So instead, a more effective strategy for America would be to publicize the report (and a Chinese-language version) so that all 1.4 billion Chinese know how well their rulers have done for themselves.And don’t stop. This should not be a one-time report that is released and (like all reports) forgotten in a week. There is always more to be uncovered — especially if investigators expand coverage to the “top 500” CCP elites and beyond.Make it an intelligence priority and keep on it. Update the report every quarter. Publicize it widely on Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, and elsewhere. If Chinese officials complain, announce we’re simply trying to help Mr. Xi with his anti-corruption campaigns and assisting his efforts to curb money laundering and illicit capital flight.One can hear American China-whisperers warning that “Xi won’t be happy.” That’s true. It’s also the idea.Correction: $700 million is the estimate of the Xi family’s holdings. An earlier version misstated the amount.

American Intelligence Probe of Personal Wealth of Communist China’s Top Leaders Could Strike a Nerve

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