The US Senate approved today, Wednesday, a bill that would tighten supervision of foreign companies listed on US stock exchanges, a measure that may eventually lead to the removal of some companies from stock exchanges, with Focus on China.
John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican and one of the lawmakers who pushed for the bill to pass, said in a television interview that the legislation was targeting China and would aim to "prevent them from cheating" on US stock exchanges.
Work on the bill has been underway since last year, and it was passed through bipartisan cooperation, without objection.
The legislation will actually force Chinese and other foreign companies to adhere to the same level of transparency and accountability that US companies adhere to, including with regard to offering audits and declaring ownership by foreign governments.
The network "CNBC", concerned with financial and business news, pointed out that the shares of "Alibaba", a Chinese e-commerce giant listed on the American Stock Exchange, fell sharply by 2 percent, due to news of the Senate passing the bill.
The bill still has to be passed in the House of Representatives and passed into law, but it comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Opinion polls show the growing negative sentiment in the United States towards the Chinese government in particular because of trade practices.
U.S. President Donald Trump also stepped up the rhetoric against Beijing, blaming China for the spread of the Corona virus.
