Next Story
Newszop

Lawmakers want 25 Chinese companies 'out of US': 'Suspend trading and compel…'

Send Push
Two Republican lawmakers have formally requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delist 25 Chinese companies from the US stock exchanges, a report claims. The lawmakers who are also the heads of two Congressional panels reportedly cited national security risks tied to alleged military connections for making this change. John Moolenaar , chair of the House China Committee, and Rick Scott, chair of the Senate Special Committee on Ageing, addressed SEC Chair Paul Atkins in a recent letter urging immediate action on the same. The proposal targets high-profile firms such as Alibaba , Baidu , JD.com and Weibo, among other Chinese companies listed in the US.

The proposed delisting also targets companies like: Pony AI (an autonomous‐driving technology firm), Hesai (a laser‐sensors manufacturer that denies Pentagon allegations of military ties), Tencent Music (already blacklisted by the Pentagon), and Daqo New Energy Corp (a polysilicon producer previously blacklisted for alleged forced labour in Xinjiang).



What concerns US lawmakers about these Chinese companies


In the letter (seen by the Financial Times), Moolenaar and Scott warn that these companies’ purported ties to the Chinese military threaten US investors and compromise national security. They also insisted that the SEC should use its authority to protect American markets.


“These entities benefit from American investor capital while advancing the strategic objectives of the Chinese Communist party…supporting military modernisation and gross human rights violations, they also pose an unacceptable risk to American investors,” the letter said.


The letter argued that regardless of their outward commercial appearance, these Chinese groups were “ultimately harnessed for nefarious state purposes” due to China’s military-civil fusion program, which compels companies to share technology with the People’s Liberation Army at Beijing’s direction.


The lawmakers warned that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control over these firms was “systemically concealed from US investors” and that Chinese law imposed an “unpredictable risk to US investors that enhanced disclosures cannot mitigate.”

Furthermore, they noted that many of the companies named in their letter were “not merely opaque” but “actively integrated into the Chinese military and surveillance apparatus.”

Moolenaar and Scott pointed out that the SEC already possesses the necessary tools and authority under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act to “suspend trading and compel delisting by suspending or revoking the registration of the securities of Chinese companies that do not adequately protect American investors.”

“The SEC can — and must — act,” the letter added.

Lawmakers argued these companies were “accessing US capital while serving a genocidal dictatorship and our foremost geostrategic rival.”

As per the US–China Economic and Security Review Commission, 286 Chinese firms remain listed on US exchanges as of March.
Loving Newspoint? Download the app now