Hunter Biden's China adventure is a problem for Joe Biden

President Trump's phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is deeply problematic. But Joe Biden's decision to allow his son, Hunter, to travel with him on a 2013 trip to China is a problem for the former vice president.

As NBC News reports, Hunter joined his father's official visit while seeking Chinese investment for a new equity fund he was forming. While NBC says there are no indications Hunter met with Chinese government officials during the visit, it notes that Hunter attended some formal events with his father. NBC also confirms that Hunter's equity fund received its Chinese license just 10 days after the trip. These things should concern us.

First off, even if Hunter had no one-on-one meetings with Chinese government officials, his presence at formal events was of obvious value to his business interests. China is an authoritarian one-party state. Its leaders view access to business opportunity as a reward to those who are loyal and of value to the state. Simply associating himself with his father would have gained Chinese attention and favor.

Recall that in 2013, the Obama administration was earning Beijing's favor by choosing to largely ignore China's imperial island campaign in the South China Sea and its theft of U.S. intellectual property. Indeed, Beijing would have been laughing at the Obama administration as it prioritized an absurd Chinese commitment to try to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.