The art dealer representing the president’s son has longstanding ties to China and said in 2015 that he wanted to be the art world’s “lead guy in China.”
Georges Berges, who is representing Hunter Biden as he ventures into the art world, has talked about his business dealings in China in the past, but his reported ties could pose an ethics issue as he sells Biden’s art to anonymous buyers.
A representative for Berges previously told Fox News that the sales of Biden’s art will be kept “confidential.” The White House has said they have an ethics plan in place to ensure the president’s son doesn’t know who buyers are, though Hunter has raised eyebrows with plans to attend art shows where potential buyers will be in attendance.
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Berges said in a 2015 interview with Resident that he wanted to be the art world’s leader in China.
“My plan is to be the lead guy in China; the lead collector and art dealer discovering and nurturing talent from that region,” Berges said. “I plan to find and discover and bring to the rest of the world those I consider China’s next generation of modern artists.”
He also said that that he believes “China’s economy is transforming the global economy and everything is changing because of a rising China,” and that he was fascinated by “cultural impact” China is “having on the world.”
“Cultural power is real power. That is the reason America continues to be the capital of the world, because of its influence on culture for generations and on an unrivaled global level,” Berges also said. “And I think more and more the Chinese are beginning to understand that cultural innovation will power their future cultural influence across continents.”
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In a 2014 interview with Quest magazine, Berges noted that he travels to China “three or four times a year” and that, at the time, he had a “solid group of about 25 collectors, most of them overseas.”
Berges’ reported ties to China and the anonymity of the buyers could pose a potential ethics problem, especially with the younger Biden’s prodigal relationship with President Biden.
Anonymous buyers could have ties to the Chinese Communist Party and could attempt to buy influence in the Biden administration through the art purchases.
Berges has also been quoted in the Chinese state-run newspaper China Daily for his involvement in a philanthropy event with three Chinese artists, whose pieces Berges said “are not just pretty objects to create, but also challenge the locals’ perceptions of what China is and the institutions they live with.”
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Additionally, in 1998, Berges was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and “terrorist threats,” which were later dismissed after 90 days in jail and 36 months probation.
Berges was also accused of defrauding an investor, Ingrid Arneberg, of half a million dollars and subsequently sued in 2016. Berges countersued Arneberg, settling the suit two years later.
Representatives for Berges and Biden did not return Fox News’ requests for comment. The White House did not provide comment to Fox News.
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