Beijing says firms on ‘unreliable entities list’ will be banned from trading with and investing in China

The Trade War continues. South China Morning Posr reports that, more than 15 months after its announcement, China has finally released details of how its new “unreliable entities list” will work, in a move seen as a countermeasure to similar actions taken by the United States.

Beijing said in May 2019 it would blacklist foreign firms or individuals that violated market rules or contractual obligations, or took measures that hurt the rights of Chinese businesses or threatened China’s national security interests.

According to a statement issued by the commerce ministry on Saturday, firms and individuals on the blacklist would be restricted or banned entirely from trading – both imports and exports – with China and also from investing in the country.

Lu Xiang, a research fellow on US-China relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the release of the rules was a response to Washington’s efforts to contain Chinese technology companies and would allow Beijing to introduce countermeasures in the future.

“China needs more legal tools in the face of uncertainties in its relations with the US,” he said, though added that he expected very few US companies to be blacklisted.