Kushner firm pulls out of China events

BEIJING — The real estate company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, said on Friday that its employees would no longer take part in a cross-country roadshow in China this month.

Executives from Kushner Cos., including Nicole Meyer, Kushner’s sister, were expected to appear in the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou and the central city of Wuhan this month, according to ads for the events.

But after an uproar, the company and its Chinese partner said on Friday that Kushner Cos. would no longer be present at those events, although it will continue to actively court investors.

The company is seeking $150 million in financing for a New Jersey housing development through a program that gives foreigners who invest at least $500,000 a shot at green cards, which allow permanent residence in the United States. The overall sum represents about 15 percent of the total cost of the property project.

But the effort to raise money in China drew widespread criticism, with ethics experts saying it presented a conflict of interest. Kushner continues to benefit from a stake in his family’s real estate business and other investments worth as much as $600 million.

On Friday, Risa Heller, a spokesman for Kushner Cos., said its employees would no longer participate in the roadshow after taking part in meetings in Beijing and Shanghai last weekend.

“No one from Kushner Cos. will be in China this weekend,” she said in a statement, which was earlier reported by The Washington Post.