Laurie Buckhout calls China a threat while holding thousands in China-linked investments

Republican U.S. House candidate Laurie Buckhout has repeatedly accused Democrats of being too cozy with China. Now, a review of financial disclosures shows that Buckhout has up to $140,000 invested in entities with ties to China.

Buckhout, a retired Army Colonel, is running to represent North Carolina’s first district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her opponent is incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis.

In July, the right-wing New York Post reported on a diplomatic trip that Davis took to China in 2013 when he was serving in the North Carolina Senate. Buckhout shared the article on social media and accused Davis of being friendly with the Chinese Communist Party.

“While China has taken over thousands of acres of valuable farmland in NC-01, Don Davis is chumming it up with the CCP,” Buckhout wrote. “China is not our friend, Don. We need a representative in this district that cares more about our people than our adversaries.”

Buckhout has used similar language to attack President Joe Biden. 

“Joe Biden is a bought-and-paid-for Chinese asset,” Buckhout wrote on X in December 2023. “I have never seen our nation in such danger. IMPEACH NOW!!!!”

According to Buckhout’s personal financial disclosures, she has between $21,000 and $140,000 invested in seven different assets with ties to China. Four of these investments are through her personal investment portfolio. Three are through a Roth IRA.

Buckhout has up to $15,000 personally invested in the California technology company Nvidia. In January, Reuters reported that the Chinese military has acquired Nvidia semiconductors despite a ban on such products being exported to China. There are concerns that China could use the semiconductors to fuel advancements in military technology and artificial intelligence.

Buckhout has up to another $ 15,000 personally invested in the American company Rockwell Automation. Last year, Rockwell Automation became the subject of a federal probe when it was discovered that a China-based facility owned by the company posed a potential threat to U.S. cybersecurity. The probe is still ongoing.

Buckhout’s Roth IRA has up to $30,000 invested in two separate index funds that explicitly invest in emerging global markets, including China. Buckhout doesn’t control the specific decisions these funds make, but she, or whoever manages her portfolio, actively chose to invest in them.

These funds have significant holdings in prominent Chinese companies, including Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group, both of which are partially owned by the Chinese government.

A Buckhout spokesperson did not respond to questions for this story.