This Democrat Spoke Out Against China’s Abuses. Then Came These Investments.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) has spent years advocating for China’s persecuted Uyghur minority while investing in Chinese companies that have faced scrutiny over alleged ties to Uyghur forced labor and surveillance.  

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic minority in northwest China whom the Chinese Communist Party has been accused of subjecting to forced labor, mass detention, and other human rights abuses.  

Suozzi’s advocacy dates back to March 2020, when he co-sponsored the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was later signed into law by President Joe Biden. However, while publicly advocating for Uyghurs, Suozzi also traded shares of NIO, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer linked to supply chains associated with Uyghur forced labor. According to congressional financial disclosure reports, Suozzi purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 of NIO stock on September 2, 2020, followed by another purchase of between $15,001 and $50,000 on October 5, 2020. He sold between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of NIO stock on May 20, 2021. 

Suozzi also invested in Baidu, a Chinese search engine that drew criticism after a patent described facial-recognition technology capable of identifying ethnicity, including Uyghurs. The company, when faced with allegations, claimed it has “never developed or permitted its technology to profile any ethnic group”, saying the patent does not represent “the expected implementation of the invention.” Suozzi sold between $15,001 and $50,000 of stock in 2017. 

Suozzi co-sponsored the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2025 and has served as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Uyghur Caucus since 2024. When he relaunched the caucus, he said, “What’s happening to Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang should shock everyone’s conscience. As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Uyghur Caucus, I will continue to stand up, call out, and push back against the Chinese Communist Party for its oppression and persecution of Uyghur Muslims.” Suozzi added, “The CCP is brutally and systemically trying to destroy the Uyghur people with mass internment camps, forced labor, sexual abuse, and forced sterilization. We cannot shy away from this. We must shine a light on these atrocities.”

Since entering Congress, Suozzi has reported 671 stock transactions totaling roughly $20.9 million in disclosed trading volume.

Suozzi is among roughly half of the members of Congress who report trading individual stocks, while the other half report no individual stock trades. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) introduced the “Stop Insider Trading Act,” earlier this year. Steil’s bill would stop lawmakers from buying individual stocks during their time in office, and if they were to sell stocks they would need to provide at least seven days notice before the trade.