Sen. risked Pa. pensions in China co.

$31M in discredited firm

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) supervised a potentially risky investment of more than $31 million from state worker pensions into a Chinese governmentbacked firm — that has since been deemed a threat to the US — while he served as the commonwealth’s treasurer in 2006.

A state report on the fund from 2007 notes holdings by the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System in China Mobile Ltd. valued at $31,386,930 — the eighth-largest foreign asset held by the state at the time, joining a list that included major brands like Nestle, UBS and BP.

A report covering the previous year, 2005, does not list China Mobile as one of the fund’s 10 largest overseas holdings, nor does one for the year before that — though the value of many other foreign investments remained similar.

The state report for 2007 also does not show China Mobile among the fund’s 10 largest international assets.

China Mobile has since been designated a national security threat, with the Defense Department in June 2020 noting the company was part of the Chinese Communist Party’s “military-civil fusion national strategy.”

The New York Stock Exchange delisted China Mobile in January 2021. President Biden, in a June 2021 executive order, further demanded US shareholders divest from the company.

China Mobile is owned by a subsidiary of the People’s Republic of China.

The China Mobile assets were one of many lucrative holdings Casey oversaw when he served as state treasurer from 2005 to 2007, investing much of Pennsylvania taxpayers’ money in international equity.

The holdings in China Mobile were overseen by Casey as the fund’s custodian as well as 10 other board members.

A spokeswoman for Casey’s office told The Post Monday that the senator should not be held responsible for the investment.

“This story is a false attack — the investment in question was made before Bob Casey became state treasurer in 2005,” she said.

“No one is tougher on China than Senator Casey,” she added.