
US President Joe Biden delays Trump’s ban on investments in companies with similar names to blacklisted Chinese firms
- Deadline extended until May 27 for companies with similar names to companies deemed to have ties to China’s military
- Biden administration is conducting ‘complex reviews’ of Trump policies on China
The Biden administration delayed a ban imposed by Donald Trump on American investors, pension funds and financial firms investing in companies that have similar names to a group of blacklisted Chinese firms with purported ties to China’s military.
In November last year, former US President Donald Trump issued an executive order that barred American investors from owning companies with military ties beginning this month.

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Investors have until November 11 to fully exit their holdings of designated companies.

The American bourse has not publicly commented on the request by the telecoms companies.
Under NYSE rules, a review must be scheduled at least 25 business days after receiving the request. The earliest date would fall during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The shares of the telecoms firms have not traded in New York since OFAC issued additional guidance on January 8. All three companies are listed in Hong Kong and their shares have soared since the US delisting.
Shares of China Mobile rose as much as 2.6 per cent in intraday trade in Hong Kong on Thursday, while those of China Telecom increased as much as 2.2 per cent and China Unicom increased as much as 1.5 per cent.
Biden is expected to take a less combative approach to US-China relations, which deteriorated to their lowest point in decades during Trump’s tenure. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this week the new administration was undertaking “complex reviews” of various Trump policies towards China.

However, there remains significant distrust between Washington and Beijing on a variety of issues, including trade, technology and human rights.
During her confirmation before the US Senate, new Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described China as the US’s “most important strategic competitor”.
“We need to take on China‘s abusive, unfair, and illegal practices,” Yellen said as part of her January 19 testimony. “China is undercutting American companies by dumping products, erecting trade barriers, and giving illegal subsidies to corporations.”
