China will take the necessary measures to protect the interests of its companies after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) began delisting three Chinese telecommunications companies that Washington says have military ties, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.
The NYSE said it will delist China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom between January 7 and January 11, after President Donald Trump moved in November to block U.S. investment in 31 companies Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
"This kind of abuse of national security and state authority to suppress Chinese companies does not comply with market rules and violates market logic," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
"These actions not only harm the legal rights of Chinese companies, but also the interests of investors in other countries, including the United States.
While the department said it would take measures to protect its companies, it also called on the United States to meet With China halfway and get bilateral trade relations back on track.
In the final weeks before President-elect Joe Biden took office on January 20, the Trump administration stepped up its tough stance against China.
Relations between the two largest economies have been increasingly strained amid a series of disagreements over issues such as trade and human rights.
The U.S. Department of Commerce added dozens of Chinese companies to the trade blacklist in December, accusing Beijing of using its companies to harness civilian technologies for military purposes.
Chinese diplomats expressed hope that Biden's election would help ease tensions between the two countries.
In remarks published Saturday, Wang Yi, china's top diplomat, said that relations with the United States have reached a new crossroads and a new window of hope can now be opened.
The three companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange generate the total proceeds from China and do not have a meaningful presence in the United States except for their listing there.
Chinese officials have threatened to respond to the Trump administration's earlier actions via the Chinese blacklist of U.S. companies.
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