China’s threat to blacklist US firms as security risk could be key weapon in latest trade talks
- Beijing is expected to use plans for a list of ‘unreliable entities’ as a major bargaining chip when negotiations resume next week
- Talks are back on track after the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, but the chances of further progress remain uncertain
China’s plan to name foreign companies as a risk to national security is expected to be used as a key bargaining chip when trade talks with the United States resume, according to industry sources.
The two sides are poised to restart negotiations in Beijing next week following the face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, last weekend.
But sources and observers said China had several cards to play if the momentum towards a trade deal stalled again – including the proposed list of “unreliable entities”.
The plan, first announced in May, would see foreign companies that are deemed to hurt China’s legitimate interests or pose a risk to national security added to the blacklist.
Details of the list have yet to be released – the Ministry of Commerce has said they will be announced “soon” – but one US business source said the proposal showed that China was serious and the “message was understood”.