申論題

 US lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday to force Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges so as to submit to regulatory oversight, for national security purposes. Chinese authorities have long been reluctant to allow overseas regulators to inspect local accounting firms — including member firms of the Big Four international accounting networks — citing national security concerns. In spite of a 2013 agreement that ended a stalemate over the issue and allowed US regulators to request audit working papers in China, there have been difficulties in actually gaining access. At least two Hong Kong-based audit firms have been barred from auditing US-listed companies, because they could not produce the papers US regulators asked for. “Beijing should no longer be allowed to shield US-listed Chinese companies from complying with American laws and regulations for financial transparency and accountability,” Republican US Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement. Last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued a warning to investors about the difficulties US regulators faced in inspecting the audit work and practices of auditing firms in China that examine US-listed Chinese companies. There are 156 US-listed Chinese companies with a combined market capitalization of US$1.2 trillion, including oil and gas giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp（中國石油化工）and Alibaba Group Holding（阿里巴巴）. “It’s time for China’s government to play by the same rules as American companies in our financial markets,” Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who cosponsored the bill, said on Tuesday.