Geithner & Hatted Friends to Meet on China

Robert Wenzel of EPJ reported Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will meet with an illustrious delegation to discuss bilateral economic relations with China.  On the American side we find Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, William Perry, Carla Hills and Bob Rubin.

Kissinger, Shultz and Perry penned a WSJ op-ed.  It posed deep concerns over the spread of nuclear weapons into potentially dangerous hands. Economic warfare on Iran could be discussed.  What might Uncle Sam ask of China in that regard?

Certainly, that's fodder for conspiracy theorists.  But consider the other two names.  Carla Hills and Bob Rubin serve on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Board of Directors.  Perry and Shultz are members of CFR, where Kissinger's wisdom is well represented..

Carla Hills bio (from Gilead Sciences DEF-14A) states:

Carla A. Hills, age 76, joined our Board in January 2007. Since 1993, she has served as the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Hills & Company, a firm providing advice to U.S. businesses on investment, trade and risk assessment issues outside the United States. Mrs. Hills served as U.S. Trade Representative from 1989 to 1993, and was principal advisor on international trade to President George H. W. Bush. Under President Gerald R. Ford, she served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Mrs. Hills is a director of TCW Group, Inc. and serves on the international advisory boards of J.P. Morgan Chase, Rolls Royce and the Coca-Cola Company. Mrs. Hills previously served as a director of American International Group, Inc., Chevron Corporation and Time Warner, Inc. She is also Chair of the Inter-American Dialogue and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, Co-Chair of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Advisory Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a member of the Executive Committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Trilateral Commission and a member of the board of the International Crisis Group. 

Now that's a lot of hats, Council on Foreign Relations, CSIS, Trilateral Commission.  It makes me hungry for a Bilderberger.  But back to possible topics.


William J. Perry serves on the board of Fabrinet, a Cayman Islands exempted limited-liability company with a Chinese subsidiary.  Isn't Perry on the Blue team, interested in American companies providing jobs at home and paying taxes?  Fabrinet's S-1 describes Perry's current leadership roles:

Dr. William J. Perry has served on our board of directors since 2008. Dr. Perry is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor at Stanford University, with a joint appointment in the School of Engineering and the Institute for International Studies, where he is co-director of the Preventive Defense Project.  Dr. Perry serves on the board of directors of Lucent Government Systems (a subsidiary of Alcatel–Lucent), Covant Technologies, LLC, and Acuitus (a private company).

Covant Technologies is a private equity firm investing in defense, homeland security and government technology opportunities.  Acuitus had this to say about Perry's other leadership roles:

Dr. Perry serves on the board of directors of Anteon International Corporation and several emerging high-tech companies and is chairman of Global Technology Partners.

Defense contractor Anteon sold out to General Dynamics in 2006.  Global Technology Partners remains a viable private equity underwriter (PEU).

George P. Shultz is on the board of Accretive Health.  His bio states:

George P. Shultz has been a member of our board of directors since April 2005. Mr. Shultz has had a distinguished career in government, academia and business. He also chairs the Governor of California’s Economic Advisory Board and the J.P. Morgan Chase International Council; serves as Advisory Council Chair of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University; chairs the MIT Energy Initiative External Advisory Board; and serves on the board of directors of Fremont Group, L.L.C., a private investment firm. 

Bob Rubin and Henry Kissinger are left.  Only Kissinger knows how to keep his name and corporate ties private.  Image having the gravitas to keep SEC information hidden.  Kissinger did state on his webpage:

At present, Dr. Kissinger is Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm. He is also a member of the International Council of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; a Counselor to and Trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; an Honorary Governor of the Foreign Policy Association; and an Honor Member of the International Olympic Committee. Among his other activities, Dr. Kissinger is a member of the Board of Directors of ContiGroup Companies, Inc. and an Advisor to the Board of Directors of American Express Company. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Forstmann Little and Co.; a Trustee Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a Director Emeritus of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.; and a Director of the International Rescue Committee.

Kissinger is also partner with Mac McLarty in Kissinger-McLarty Associates.  McLarty is Senior Advisor at The Carlyle Group, yet another private equity firm.  Erskine Bowles lost his first fortune at Forstmann Little, but looks to make another at Carousel Capital.  McLarty, Bowles and Rubin all worked in the Clinton White House.  All are PEU's.

Bob Rubin's private equity employer is Centerview Partners.  He left CitiGroup in 2009.  The latest Citi information on Rubin cited his activities:

The Council on Foreign Relations (Co-Chairman), Insight Capital Partners (Advisory Board), Tinicum Capital Partners, L.P. (Special Advisor), Taconic Capital Advisors LLC (member of Advisory Board), and General Atlantic LLC (member of Executive Advisory Board.

Let's be clear, Geithner's many hatted friends have corporate interests at heart.  J.P. Morgan's desires may or may not be in America's interests.  How will "nice guy, noncommittal" Tim bridge the divide?