Leaked files reveal the bank serving Beijing’s interest worldwide

· Australian Financial Review

Peter Ker and , Lucy King
Sep 15, 2026 – 8.01am

When Liao Lin whimsically observed that “large boats carry heavy loads”, he wasn’t talking about the Australian commodities that his bank was helping put on ships bound for China every day.

The chairman of the world’s biggest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was instead talking about the responsibility to deliver Chinese national interest objectives alongside a commercially rational loan book while operating within the laws of foreign countries.

Loading...

Save
Log in or Subscribe to save article
Share

Copy link

Copied

EmailLinkedInTwitterFacebook

Copy link

Copied

Share via...
Gift this article

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber? Login

License article

Read More

Peter KerResources reporterPeter Ker covers resource companies for The Australian Financial Review, based in Melbourne. Connect with Peter on Twitter. Email Peter at pker@afr.com

Lucy KingJournalistLucy King reports on data-driven investigations and explainers Email Lucy at lucy.king@afr.com

Latest In Asia

Fetching latest articles