China preparing blacklist of US companies, signaling threat to trade talks

A response from China on the Xinjiang issue that hits US companies would add another obstacle as the two countries struggle to finalise a phase-one deal to de-escalate the trade war

Chinese state media said the government will soon publish a list of “unreliable entities” that could lead to sanctions against US companies, signaling that trade talks between the two nations are increasingly under threat from disputes over human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

The Communist Party-backed Global Times said in a tweet early Tuesday that the list was being sped up in response to a bill sponsored by Republican Senator Marco Rubio requiring measures against Chinese officials involved in alleged abuses of Uighur Muslims in the far west region of Xinjiang. Beijing has threatened to publish such a list