Earlier today China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told journalists in Beijing that recent decisions by US index companies to exclude Chinese military-linked companies would not impact upon foreign investors appetite for investment in China. US President Trump signed an executive order in November 2020 prohibiting dealings in the stock of 31 Chinese companies that the US Department of Defence identified as “Communist China military companies” – the prohibition takes effect on 11 January 2021.
NASDAQ has announced that as from 21 December the Index provider will remove 4 China companies – far short of the Trump ban on 31 companies, itself signs of tensions between Trump and US business.
Wang Wenbin, China’s spokesman, said that “China’s capital markets have increasingly widened access for allocating to stocks of Chinese companies, while very few Chinese firms are excluded from some global indices”.
Trump is trying to tie the hands of incoming President Biden and make him look weak if he removes these Trump bans and personnel restrictions.
