The bank’s then-chief executive Lloyd Blankfein launched the China-US Industrial Cooperation Partnership Fund during Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing in 2017, saying it would help address Washington’s concerns about a trade imbalance between the US and China by investing Chinese capital in American companies.
In 2021, Goldman used the partnership fund with CIC to help finance its purchase of LRQA, the inspections and cyber unit of UK maritime classifications group Lloyd’s Register. LRQA carries out inspection and certification services, and operates in the aerospace, defence, energy and healthcare industries among others.
But the sovereign wealth fund is more closely involved with the companies it buys than typical investors in most buyout funds. One UK official said the British government could not comment on any specific acquisitions given the “quasi-judicial” nature of its investment screening powers. But they added: “The government will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security where we identify concerns.”
CIC is also on the fund’s “limited partner advisory committee”, a term used in the private equity industry for a group of significant investors in a fund that can be consulted for advice, though they do not make investment decisions.