Stephen Bannon, Outspoken Critic of China, Has Subtler Message in Hong Kong Visit<br />12, 2017<br />HONG KONG — In the White House, Stephen K. Bannon helped shape President Trump’s nationalistic rhetoric<br />that blamed China for economic woes in the United States.<br />Over lunch in a private room at the Grissini restaurant in the Grand Hyatt hotel, overlooking Victoria Harbour, Mr. Bannon shared his insights on a range of topics — including the United States electoral system, immigration<br />and the escalating conflict over North Korea — with a small group of investors, according to two people who were in attendance.<br />A former Goldman Sachs banker, Mr. Bannon in 2005 helped secure $60 million in funding for Internet Gaming Entertainment, a company based<br />in Hong Kong, from investors including Goldman Sachs, according to a new book by Joshua Green, a Bloomberg Businessweek reporter.<br />Mr. Bannon dined on Tuesday with a small group of hedge fund managers<br />and investors, and later gave a keynote address at a major investor conference, where he spoke about the rise of populism in places like the United States and the Philippines.<br />In his keynote address, in a crowded Grand Hyatt ballroom, Mr. Bannon discussed economic nationalism in the United States<br />and its spread across the globe, including in Britain.<br />Now, less than a month after leaving the government, Mr. Bannon, the former chief strategist to Mr. Trump, has come to Hong Kong,<br />at the invitation of a company controlled by the Chinese government, where he called President Xi Jinping of China a wise leader.
