House China committee chair urges Fed to review Hong Kong’s access to dollar lifeline

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan walk down the steps of the National Archives during President Xi Jinping's state visit, Sept. 25 2026, in Washington, DC. The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty ImagesThe chairman of an influential congressional committee is urging the Federal Reserve to consider cutting off a potential financial lifeline extended to Hong Kong during Covid-era market turbulence.The Fed should review the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's access to the Foreign and International Monetary Authorities Repo Facility, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said in a letter sent to the U.S. central bank last week and exclusively obtained by CNBC. Moolenaar chairs the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The FIMA facility allows central banks to effectively borrow dollars from the Fed with those countries' Treasury holdings as collateral. It was conceived as a means to ensure governments could get access to dollars in a crisis without having to sell Treasurys, which could create a downward spiral for prices. Read more CNBC politics and policy coverageThe push to potentia...