In a statement released through his attorney Sunday morning, Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, said he would resign from the board of a Chinese company and pledged not to serve on boards of foreign companies if Joe Biden were elected president.

Hunter Biden had received criticism from President Donald Trump and Republicans for his work on foreign boards as House Democrats escalated an impeachment inquiry into Trump for pressuring the Ukrainian government into opening an investigation into Hunter Biden.

Trump has also said China should investigate Hunter Biden, though the Chinese government has said publicly that it would not.

USA TODAY has spoken to two dozen leaders and investigators in Ukraine who say Trump's accusations against Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine are baseless.

George Mesires, Hunter Biden's attorney, wrote in a statement posted on Medium that Hunter Biden had decided to resign his seat on the board of the Chinese investment firm BHR.

Mesires said Biden had not received any compensation for being on the board, nor did he receive any equity in it while Joe Biden was vice president.

"To date, Hunter has not received any compensation for being on BHR’s board of directors," Mesires wrote. "He has not received any return on his investment; there have been no distributions to BHR shareholders since Hunter obtained his equity interest. Moreover, Hunter played no role in directing or making BHR’s investments."

Mesires said Hunter Biden was going to resign from the BHR board by Oct. 31.

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According to Mesires, "Hunter undertook these business activities independently," never discussed them with Joe Biden, and "When Hunter engaged in his business pursuits, he believed that he was acting appropriately and in good faith."

Hunter Biden "never anticipated the barrage of false charges" from Trump, Mesires wrote.

If Joe Biden were elected president in 2020, Hunter Biden pledged "not to serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies" and comply with all ethics and guidelines related to conflicts of interest, Mesires concluded.

Joe Biden has defended his son on the campaign trail and has said Hunter Biden would serve a visible role on his 2020 campaign.

"He's a fine man. He's been through hell," Joe Biden said of his son in an Oct. 3 interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.