How Donald Trump has targeted Chinese companies with executive orders, sanctions

The ongoing saga of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) moving to delist three of China's biggest telecommunications companies is the latest reminder of the rapidly shifting ground Chinese companies have regularly found themselves on as Sino-American relations have soured.

Since taking office four years ago, US President Donald Trump has taken a confrontational stance on China and its tightly controlled economy, relying on a combination of sanctions, tariffs and blacklists in hopes of winning concessions on a variety of issues, including trade, national security and human rights.

Even as President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office on January 20, Trump continues to pile pressure on Beijing, signing into law or drafting executive orders designed to limit access by Chinese companies to American capital markets.

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President Trump has issued more than 200 executive orders since 2017, far more than the last three presidents did in their first terms. Many of the last-minute measures are designed to cement his administration's get-tough policies on China and limit the ability of his successor to shift US policy.

As the Trump administration draws to a close, here are some of the executive orders and laws that have targeted mainland Chinese and Hong Kong businesses:

Alipay is one of eight Chinese apps banned by the Trump administration over national security concerns. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Alipay is one of eight Chinese apps banned by the Trump administration over national security concerns. Photo: Bloomberg

Executive Order Addressing the Threat Posed By Applications and Other Software Developed or Controlled By Chinese Companies

Description: The order, issued on January 5, bans transactions with eight Chinese software applications, citing as a national security threat the possibility of these programmes being used by the Chinese government to access the personal data ofAmericans. The order becomes effective in 45 days, after President Trump has left office.

Companies affected: Ant Group's Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office

Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act

Description: The law, signed by President Trump on December 18, requires Chinese companies to provide their audit working papers for US accounting oversight or face a delisting from American stock exchanges.

Companies affected: Potentially all publicly listed Chinese firms in the United States. As of October 2, there were 217 Chinese companies listed in the US with a total market capitalisation of US$2.2 trillion, according to the latest report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

China Mobile is one of 35 Chinese companies the US has blacklisted over purported ties to the Chinese military. Photo: AP alt=China Mobile is one of 35 Chinese companies the US has blacklisted over purported ties to the Chinese military. Photo: AP

Executive Order Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments that Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies

Description: The order, issued on November 12, bans American investors including individuals, pension funds and university endowments, from owning or trading stocks of companies deigned by the US government as being owned or controlled by the Chinese military. The restrictions begin on January 11, but Americans have until November of this year to divest their holdings.

The order prompted the NYSE to move to delist China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, before reversing itself and reversing itself again to delist the companies. It has also caused big index providers to remove a number of Chinese firms from their global stock and bond benchmarks.

Companies affected: The Trump administration has identified 35 so-called Chinese Communist military companies and certain subsidiaries of those companies. In addition to the three telecom companies, the list includes oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), surveillance camera maker Hangzhou Hikvision and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).

The Trump administration ordered TikTok and WeChat to cease their operations in the US last year, but the ban was blocked by the courts. Photo: AP alt=The Trump administration ordered TikTok and WeChat to cease their operations in the US last year, but the ban was blocked by the courts. Photo: AP

Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat

Description: The orders, issued on August 6, barred Bytedance's TikTok and Tencent Holdings' WeChat from conducting operations in the US, claiming they posed national security and privacy concerns because of data collected by the apps. TikTok was also ordered to sell its US operations, but a December 4 deadline to sell the business came and went without a resolution.

Both bans were challenged in court and blocked by US judges, allowing their services to continue to operate in the US.

Companies affected: TikTok and WeChat.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is one of about two dozen mainland and Hong Kong officials facing US sanctions. Photo: Nora Tam alt=Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is one of about two dozen mainland and Hong Kong officials facing US sanctions. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong Autonomy Act

Description: The law, signed by President Trump on July 14, requires the US State Department to issue an annual report on individuals who contribute to the undermining of Hong Kong's autonomy and allows the US to sanction those individuals and foreign financial institutions who engage in "significant transactions" with them.

On the same day the act became law, President Trump issued an executive order that ended Hong Kong's preferential trading status.

The US has since sanctioned more than two dozen Hong Kong and mainland officials, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Lam said she had trouble using her credit cards and is now paid in cash because of the sanctions.

Companies affected: The US Treasury Department said in a report in December that it had yet to identify any financial institutions who engaged in significant transactions with the blacklisted people.

Uygur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020

Description: The law, signed by President Trump on June 17, imposes sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for potential human rights abuses against Muslim ethnic minority groups in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, including allegations of forced labour and mass internments.

Companies affected: Cotton and textile producers in Xinjiang. The US announced a broad ban on imports of cotton and tomatoes products from the region in September before shelving those plans for narrower restrictions. In December, it announced a new ban on cotton and cotton products from Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, which is responsible for a third of China's cotton production.

The Trump administration allowed tariff exclusions on a variety of Chinese goods imported in to the US to expire in December. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=The Trump administration allowed tariff exclusions on a variety of Chinese goods imported in to the US to expire in December. Photo: EPA-EFE

Section 301: China Tariff Actions and Exclusion Process

Description: The Trump administration allowed a series of exclusions from tariffs enacted on more than US$300 billion of Chinese goods as part of a trade war with Beijing to expire on December 31, only extending exclusions for three months for medical care products related to the treatment of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Importers could face tariffs of as much as 25 per cent on some products following the expiration of the exclusions.

Companies affected: US importers of Chinese goods ranging from electric motors to microscopes, and, in some cases, American consumers who have to pay higher prices.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.