Shortly after Nancy Pelosi visited China on August 2nd, China sanctioned Pelosi over the trip. The main reason why China was furious about the visit is that Chinese officials viewed Taiwan as a province, a part of China’s territory. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan slapped them by indirectly acknowledging Taiwan as a ‘state’. China viewed this to be a violation of sovereignty. Anyways, Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

After her short and concise trip, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement: “In response to Pelosi’s egregious provocation, China decides to adopt sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members in accordance with relevant laws of the People’s Republic of China.” People may wonder what’s the point of sanctioning Pelosi since she’s not going to move to China anyways. However, taking this action hits where it hurts. 

Pelosi and her family made lucrative investments in stock markets as one of the richest members of Congress. Pelosi and her family have benefited from investments in firms with close links to China despite a long-standing tough stance on China. According to US author Peter Schweizer’s book, Pelosi’s family has put millions of dollars at stake when dealing with China. Pelosi’s spouse was also associated with a number of limousine firms, including one that catered to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Pelosi’s son, Paul Pelosi Jr., also looked for commercial prospects in China via two businesses, International Media Acquisition Corp and Global Tech Industries Group.

China Mainland media “Shenzhen Satellite TV” reported on the 7th that Pelosi’s spouse, Paul Pelosi, manages the Mingji Asia Fund in Hong Kong, with assets under management reaching US$17.4 billion.

The Pelosi family does have good business acumen. They got their sights set on China during the prominent moment of China’s economic and social development and invested in as-yet-undiscovered corporations like Tencent, Alibaba and Pinduoduo(one of the biggest Chinese e-commerce platforms).

Will Pelosi regret her visit to Taiwan after being forced to waiver all the investments and assets in China? Deteriorating the U.S.-China relations, is visiting Taiwan the right move? Probably midterm votes weigh more to her and Democrats. Still, the sanction recently imposed will for sure shut Pelosi’s family out of the Chinese market and would result in significant economic loss for her. Grasping Taiwan on the board game can be a double-edged sword. 

Martel, Frances. “Chinese State Media Cites Peter Schweizer, Breitbart to Attack Nancy Pelosi.” Breitbart, 8 Aug. 2022, breitbart.com/asia/2022/08/06/chinese-state-media-cites-peter-schweizer-breitbart-to-attack-nancy-pelosi/.

Richard, Lawrence. “China Sanctions House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over 'Egregious Provocation' in Visit to Taiwan.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 5 Aug. 2022, foxnews.com/world/china-sanctions-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-over-egregious-provocation-visit-taiwan.

Brown, Lee. “China Sanctions Nancy Pelosi over 'Vicious' Taiwan Trip.” New York Post, New York Post, 5 Aug. 2022, nypost.com/2022/08/05/china-sanctions-nancy-pelosi-over-taiwan-trip/.

Anonym. “Pelosi's Husband's Hong Kong Assets Exposed! Shenzhen Satellite TV Criticized: The Scale of Mad Oil and Water Reached 17.4 Billion US Dollars.” The Limited Times, The Limited Times, 7 Aug. 2022, newsrnd.com/news/2022-08-07-pelosi-s-husband-s-hong-kong-assets-exposed!-shenzhen-satellite-tv-criticized--the-scale-of-mad-oil-and-water-reached-17-4-billion-us-dollars.HJpe5STpq.html.