US lawmakers have successfully passed legislation in the Senate that will allow the country to bar China-based companies, such as Alibaba and Baidu, from being listed on the US stock exchange. The bill is said to have received overwhelming support from both Democrats and Republicans.
With the new bill, companies wishing to be listed on the US stock exchange will have to provide proof that it is free from control and not under the influence of a foreign government. Should the company be unable to prove itself, the alternative will be to allow a US Oversight board to audit the company’s accounts for the past three consecutive years. If this ends up in failure as well, the company will then be banned from the exchange.
The legislation comes at a time when economic relations between the US and China are being pushed to the brink of animosity. The US’ Trump administration, having ignited a trade war with its economic rival back in May last year when it banned Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei from using US products and technology in its devices.
On top of that, it is also blaming China for the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan. Ironically, it is the US that saw its number of infected soared past the 1.5 million marker, while China’s decision to lock down the entire city kept the number of its infected just above the 80000 mark.
(Source: Bloomberg via The Edge Markets // Image: Sami Keinänen // Marc van der Chijs, used under Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 and BY-ND 2.0 licenses.)
