The New York Stock Exchange delisted three of China’s telecom
firms, after Washington claimed that the firms had ties with the Chinese
military. China’s Commerce Ministry has responded to the situation, saying that
it will take necessary measures to protect the interests of its companies.
The targeted Chinese firms include China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. Former US President Donald Trump had ordered to bar U.S. investment in 31 firms back in November, all of which according to Washington, are either owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
The Commerce Ministry of China called the US’ move an “abuse
of national security and state power to suppress Chinese firms.” The ministry
further said that it harms the legal rights of Chinese companies, does not
comply with market rules, violates market logic, and damages the interests of
investors in other countries, including the US itself.
Although China has threatened to take action against the US,
the ministry also called on the US to meet China half-way and put bilateral
trade relations back on track.
The relations between the two countries with the most
powerful economies have been affected over a number of back-and-forth disputes
related to trade and human rights. Things started to get worse with the US
Commerce Department adding dozens of Chinese firms to a trade blacklist in
December and accusing Beijing of using the companies to harness civilian
technologies for military purposes.
