China to take action against US delisting of its telecom firms

China said on Saturday that it would take necessary countermeasures in response to the New York Stock Exchange’s announcement that it would delist three major Chinese telecoms.

The stock exchange said on Thursday that it would delist China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom Hong Kong, with trading of the companies to be suspended sometime between January 7 and January 11.

The move stems from an executive order US President Donald Trump issued on November 12 barring investment in publicly traded companies that the US government says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

“China opposes the Americans from abusing national security by listing Chinese companies as so-called ‘Communist China military companies’ and will take the necessary countermeasures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” a spokesperson for the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.

The US act of abusing national security and using state power to suppress Chinese enterprises is inconsistent with market rules and goes against the logic of the market, said the spokesperson.

The move will not only harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, but also the interests of investors from other countries, including the United States, said the spokesperson, adding that it will seriously weaken the confidence of all parties in the US capital market.

(Agencies)