Five states order employee pension funds to divest from China amid increasing tension

Five conservative states have forced their employee pension funds to divest from China over the past year, amid increased tension with the Asian country, and more are considering following suit.

Tension between the United States and China has been worsening for years, but Director of U.S. National Intelligence Avril Haines most recently warned lawmakers in May that China is preparing for increasingly unstable relationships with the United States.

Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas are leading the calls to divest from the economic powerhouse, over fears that U.S. assets could be frozen if conflict breaks out between China and Taiwan, Politico reported Friday. But other states have passed laws that force divestment from other hostile countries in the past.

“This is a great issue for folks to put politics aside, circle the wagons and say ‘We’re going to stand against the Communist Chinese Party and all the threats they pose to our nation,’” Indiana state Sen. Chris Garten, who co-sponsored his state’s bill, told the outlet.

Indiana passed its law that prohibits the state from investing in Chinese entities last year, and state pension funds have started the divesting process. Missouri also passed its law last year, and the primary U.S. federal pension fund, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, announced it would stop investing in China last November. 

Oklahoma GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered state agencies to prepare divestment plans from China last month, claiming he wanted to be prepared in case the situation escalates. He also announced other measures that would protect state tax dollars from "Chinese aggression."

“President Xi is looking at Taiwan and wants to have a united China at some point,” Stitt said. “I’m just trying to protect my state. … If something does come up [in the Indo-Pacific], I want to know what the exposure is to our pension plan."

In Kansas, the law is more broad by requiring state pension funds to divest from China and other countries of concern like Russia, Cuba, and Iran. The state's Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly refused to sign the legislation, but it did not stop it from taking effect.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.