Trump says the US is 'looking at' Chinese companies that trade on US exchanges but don't follow accounting rules

• President Donald Trump said he is "looking at" Chinese firms listed on US stock exchanges that don't adhere to US accounting rules.
• The president added that such a move could backfire, telling Fox Business in an interview aired Thursday that Chinese companies could simply move to London or Hong Kong in response.
• Trump also addressed the Thrift Savings Plan, a retirement-savings plan for federal employees that was scheduled to shift its international fund to one with exposure to Chinese stocks.
• The president has called on the plan's board to defer the move and told Fox Business "if they're not, we're going to replace them very soon."
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The White House is "looking at" Chinese companies listed on US exchanges that don't follow US accounting guidelines, President Donald Trump said.

The president added that enforcing US accounting rules could boomerang and push Chinese firms to other financial hotspots.

"What happens is, so we say, 'You're going to do this and you're going to follow the rules of the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.' And what are they going to do? They say, 'OK, we'll move to London or we'll move to Hong Kong,'" Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in an interview released Thursday.

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Trump has previously hinted at delisting Chinese stocks and barring pension funds from investing in Chinese companies, though no policies have come from the remarks.

The president's comments come as escalations between the two economic superpowers resurface. Trump has repeatedly suggested that China intentionally caused the coronavirus outbreak and hid how the pandemic came to be.

US equities dipped in early Thursday trading following the interview's airing. Trump's recent comments on China have repeatedly fueled fresh trade-war fears and boosted market volatility.

Trump also addressed the Thrift Savings Plan, a retirement-savings plan for federal employees, and a scheduled change to begin including Chinese stocks. The plan was set to move $50 billion from its international index to one with exposure to emerging markets such as China. Yet the board overseeing TSP delayed the move after receiving pushback from the Trump administration and some legislators.

"You know it's run by the Obama appointments, right," Trump said. "We're going to find out whether or not they're going to do it very soon, and if they're not, we're going to replace them very quickly."

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