April 18 (Reuters) - A congressional investigation found

that Wall Street used billions of dollars of American retirement

savings and other investments to buy shares in index funds that

included several blacklisted Chinese companies, the Wall Street

Journal reported on Thursday.

The probe, conducted by a bipartisan House committee

empowered to devise strategies for the U.S. to counter China,

focused on world's largest asset manager BlackRock ( BLK ) and

index provider MSCI ( MSCI ), the report said.

BlackRock ( BLK ) and MSCI ( MSCI ) did not immediately respond to Reuters

requests for comment.

Ties between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest

economies, have been strained in recent years due to issues

including Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic,

allegations of spying, human rights issues and trade tariffs.

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party

concluded that through investments in index funds, American

financial institutions funneled $6.5 billion last year to some

63 Chinese companies flagged by the U.S., the report said.

The committee could not be immediately reached for a

comment.