In their latest flip-flop, the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday said it would delist three Chinese telecom equities from trading due to new US government guidance. This decision will remove China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom.

Two days back, the exchange had abandoned the decision to delist amid criticism from Beijing. However, had said that it will follow ‘new specific guidance received on January 5, 2021, that the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control provided to the NYSE,’ reported AFP.

The move to end trading in the firms after 1430 GMT on January 11, comes amid fresh tension between Beijing and the outgoing administration of President Donald Trump.

Trump on Tuesday night signed an executive order banning transactions involving Alipay, WeChat Pay and other apps linked to Chinese companies, drawing strong criticism from Beijing.

Trump issued an executive order in November banning Americans from investing in Chinese companies deemed to be supplying or supporting the country’s military and security apparatus, earning a sharp rebuke from Beijing.

The NYSE said last week it would end trading in the three state-owned Chinese telecom companies, but changed course on Monday following “further consultation with relevant regulatory authorities,” only to reverse itself again.