BlackRock is the largest investor in a company tied to the Chinese military.
In early 2021, The United States announced that Baidu, along with Alibaba and Tencent, would not be added to a list of companies that Americans and American firms would be banned from investing in due to their connection with the Chinese military and other government moves that furthered the growth of Chinese hegemony, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Though Baidu escaped regulation, it has still been linked to China’s military and government. BlackRock is the largest investor in Baidu, according to a recent report by Fintel, with more than 120 million shares, enough for an approximate 5% ownership stake.
Declining to ban the companies "would be a recipe for America being held hostage to Chinese success in ramping up its investment exposure in the U.S. capital markets," said Roger Robinson, chief executive of RWR Advisory Group and former chairman of the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in the WSJ report.
Baidu partnered with the 28th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corp., (CETC) in January 2018 to establish the Joint Laboratory for Intelligent Command and Control Technologies in Nanjing, according to a report by RWR Advisory Group.
The purpose of the partnership was "to collaborate on high-tech military-civilian fusion projects in several areas including big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to bolster national defense informatization," according to the report. “The CETC develops military-oriented information systems and was previously subordinate to China's Ministry of National Defense."
The report also noted that Baidu was involved in one of the first graduate AI programs in China at Beihang University. It is estimated the university spends 60% of its research budget on defense research and development, including state-run projects involving "military equipment and weapons systems with a focus on military aeronautic technologies (including intelligent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).”
According to Wikipedia, "Baidu Inc., is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in internet-related services, products, and AI, headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the largest AI and internet companies in the world."
With Executive Order 13959, then President Donald Trump, banned investment in certain firms stating that, "Those companies raise capital by selling securities to United States investors that trade on public exchanges both here and abroad, lobbying United States index providers and funds to include these securities in market offerings, and engaging in other acts to ensure access to United States capital. In that way, the PRC (People’s Republic of China) exploits United States investors to finance the development and modernization of its military."