Compromise on Chinese Stocks Is a Win for the US
While it will take months to ensure China complies fully, the fact that the two sides were able to reach an agreement should help slow an alarming slide in relations.
Chinese may stocks get to stay.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Even as relations between the US and China plumb depths they haven’t reached in decades, the two countries appear to have struck a compromise that would allow mainland companies to continue listing on American exchanges. A deal should be welcomed, even as US regulators remain vigilant about holding China to its promises.
The dispute goes back to the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which required any foreign companies listing in the US to give regulators access to their raw audit work papers, to check for potential fraud. Only China and Hong Kong have consistently refused to comply, citing national-security concerns. A deadline imposed by Congress would’ve forced around 200 Chinese companies to either comply or delist from US exchanges by 2024.