When President-elect Joe Biden takes office, U.S. relations with China are not likely to see much improvement.
The Donald Trump influence will continue to help define the Beijing-Washington dynamic.
Under an executive order signed by Trump on Nov. 12, the New York Stock Exchange plans to delist three major Chinese telecoms, and China said Saturday that it would not just sit still and take it.
Without offering details, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that there would be repercussions, according to the state-run Global Times.
“China opposes the Americans from abusing national security by listing Chinese companies into the so-called ‘Communist China Military Companies’ list and will take the necessary countermeasures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” a spokesperson for the ministry said in a statement.
The companies on the NYSE “delist” list are China Telecom Corp. Ltd., China Mobile Ltd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd., with trading to be suspended between Jan. 7 and Jan. 11 and the investment ban beginning Jan. 11.
Trump’s executive order bars investment in publicly traded companies that the U.S. government says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
Under Trump, the U.S. has increased sanctions against Chinese companies, government officials and Communist Party members, and, last month, it announced plans to limit visas for members of the Chinese Communist Party and their family members to one month, instead of 10 years.
The Commerce Ministry said that the U.S. was “abusing national security and using state power to crack down on Chinese enterprises.”
Biden is not likely to change the nature of the China-U.S. relationship, saying last week that he would “hold China’s government accountable for its abuses on trade, technology, human rights, and other fronts.”
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