China will respond to expulsions from the stock market

Beijing. China said on Saturday it would take the necessary steps in response to the announcement by the New York Stock Exchange that it would eliminate three major Chinese telecommunications companies in the latest outbreak of tensions between Beijing and Washington.

The stock exchange said on Thursday that it will eliminate China Telecom Corp. Ltd., China Mobile Ltd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. and that trading of the companies will be suspended sometime between 7-11. from January.

The move comes from an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on November 12 banning investments in listed companies that the US government says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

“China opposes Americans abusing national security by including Chinese companies on the list of ‘Chinese Communist Military Companies’ and will take the necessary steps to resolutely protect the rights and legitimate interests of Chinese companies,” he said. in a statement a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

The actions will “significantly weaken the confidence of all parties in the US capital market”, the statement added.

The ministry did not provide details on possible measures.

With Trump, and especially in his last weeks in office, the United States has stepped up economic sanctions and travel bans against American companies, government officials and Communist Party members.

In December, the United States announced plans to limit visas for Communist Party members and their families to one month instead of 10 years.

Chinese technology giant Huawei has been excluded from the US market, and the United States has pressured other countries to follow suit, albeit with mixed results.