My Take | New McCarthyism targeting China on dangerous rise in Washington
- Consulting giant McKinsey slammed by US senator for advising Beijing on raising consumption, improving healthcare and developing new tech
Did it or didn’t it work for the Chinese communist government? That was the question the US Congress had for McKinsey, the global consulting firm. McKinsey said no, but there seems to be evidence that it did. Now what did the work involve?
It seems the firm has done consulting for various Chinese agencies and government units on boosting domestic consumption, reforming healthcare policy and developing hi-tech fields.
Even its most fanatical accusers such as Republican Senator Josh Hawley have stopped there. But that’s bad enough. It’s the new McCarthyism, and it’s just as dangerous as those who led Red Scare campaigns in the 1950s.
It seems a now-defunct McKinsey China website had claimed its clients included some Chinese government agencies and non-profit groups with official ties. But what legally sanctioned NGOs aren’t affiliated with some government agencies on the mainland?
The site, mckinseychina.com, which was shut down in 2019, said: “In the past decade alone, we’ve served over 20 different central, provincial and municipal government agencies on a wide range of economic planning, urban redevelopment and social sector issues.”
Well, that’s the smoking gun. Hawley has accused Bob Sternfels, McKinsey’s global managing partner, of lying in a Congressional hearing this month when he said McKinsey had never worked with the Chinese Communist Party or the central government.
