The U.S.¡¯ latest move to expand its list of Chinese military companies risks doing more than tanking the shares of some of its most valuable companies: It also threatens to accelerate decoupling of the world¡¯s biggest economies.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday added Tencent, the world¡¯s largest gaming publisher, and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), a key battery supplier to Tesla, to its list of "Chinese military companies¡± ¡ª firms it says are working directly or indirectly with the People¡¯s Liberation Army, or contributing significantly to China¡¯s industrial base.
Since the first list was put out in 2021, as mandated by a law passed in the waning days of Donald Trump¡¯s first term, it has expanded to 134 companies ¡ª including four of China¡¯s top 20 in terms of market capitalization, which together are valued at almost $1 trillion.
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