Chinese telecom firms got delisted from New York Stock Exchange

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, this kind of abuse of national security and state power to suppress Chinese firms does not comply with market rules and violates market logic.

The New York stock exchange has begun the process of delisting three Chinese telecoms companies as it seeks to comply with an order by the Trump administration barring investment in firms with ties to the Chinese military. It comes as relations between the world's two biggest economies spiral downwards over sore points ranging from trade and the coronavirus to Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

China will take "necessary measures" to safeguard the interests of its companies after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) began delisting three Chinese telecom firms that Washington says have military ties, the country's commerce ministry said .

The NYSE said that, it would delist China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom following President Donald Trump's move in November to bar US investment in 31 firms that Washington says are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

It was one of a series of executive orders and regulatory actions that have targeted China's economic and military expansion in recent months. The National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said at the time that the order would prevent Americans from unknowingly providing passive capital to Chinese companies -- listed on exchanges around the world -- that support the improvement of Beijing's army and spy agencies.

Under his "America First" banner, Trump has portrayed China as the greatest threat to the United States and global democracy, pursued a trade war with it, harangued Chinese tech firms, and laid all the blame for the coronavirus pandemic at Beijing's door.

This kind of abuse of national security and state power to suppress Chinese firms does not comply with market rules and violates market logic," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

"It not only harms the legal rights of Chinese companies but also damages the interests of investors in other countries, including the United States," it added.

While the ministry said it will take action to protect its firms, it also called on the United States to meet China half-way and put bilateral trade relations back on track.