The United States is receiving full access to inspect and investigate accounting firms in China for the first time, according to the nation’s top auditor.
The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced on Dec. 15 that it obtained full access to inspect and investigate firms in China after years of refusals by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“For the first time in history, the PCAOB has secured complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong,” said PCAOB Chair Erica Williams in a prepared statement.
The announcement means that around 200 Chinese companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba, will no longer be at risk of being delisted from U.S. stock exchanges. It also opens a new chapter in the ongoing struggle between CCP authorities and their Western counterparts over transparency and the national security implications of the communist regime’s connections to U.S. markets….