Trump Admin: Delisting Chinese Stocks From U.S. Exchanges Is on the Table

The Trump administration is threatening the liquidity of Chinese stocks as the trade war heats up.  

They're exploring a range of options to address economic relations with China, including the potential delisting of Chinese stocks from U.S. financial indices. 

This comes after Trump slapped 104% tariffs on China, and China responded with 84% tariffs on us.

According to the Economic Times:

Speaking to Fox Business Network, Bessent, who is considered close to Trump’s economic policy team, said that the decision to delist Chinese stocks will ultimately lie with Trump. “That will be Trump’s decision,” Bessent said, when asked about the potential for delisting Chinese firms.

“China should not try to devalue their way out of this,” he said, warning against competitive devaluation to gain trade advantages.“China should come to the table,” he said, signaling that diplomatic and economic negotiations could still play a role, if China chooses dialogue over retaliation.

According to the U.S.-China Commission, there are 265 Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges. Many of them are traded as American Depository Receipts, meaning they’re also listed on exchanges in China, not just the U.S. Those that aren’t dual listed are in the most trouble. 

Anyone who holds a delisted stock at the time of holdings is liquidated as zero - meaning their investments become worthless. This happened to anyone holding Russian stocks when they were delisted under the Biden administration.  It’s a near certainty that if this planned delisting were to proceed, it would race investors to race for the exit from Chinese stocks, as they have no other option.