NYSE withdraws plans to delist 3 Chinese phone carriers

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Stock Exchange says it is withdrawing plans to remove shares of three Chinese state-owned phone carriers under an order by President Donald Trump.

The exchange cited 'œfurther consultation'ť with U.S. regulators but gave no other details of its decision in a notice issued late Monday.

The NYSE earlier announced plans to remove China Telecom Corp. Ltd., China Mobile Ltd. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. after Trump's order in November barring Americans from investing in securities issued by companies deemed to be linked to the Chinese military.

Hong Kong-traded shares in the three companies surged Tuesday. China Telecom rose 5.7%, China Mobile jumped 5.5% and China Unicom surged 6.7%. Shares in all three have fallen recently.

The Chinese government has accused Washington of misusing national security as an excuse to hamper competition and has warned that Trump's order would hurt U.S. and other investors worldwide.

Political analysts expect little change in policy under President-elect Joe Biden due to widespread frustration with China's trade and human rights records and accusations of spying and technology theft.

U.S. officials have complained that China's ruling Communist Party takes advantage of access to American technology and investment to expand its military, already one of the world's biggest and most heavily armed.