Mainland China’s path to foreign capital has fundamentally modified over the past decade, marked by rising U.S.-China tensions and recent levels of regulation. Companies in mainland China now face stricter requirements for access to US capital markets. As a result, the number of recent listings of mainland Chinese corporations on U.S. exchanges has almost halved, from 19 in the primary half of 2023 to 11 in the primary half of 25.
The passage of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA)[1] within the United States in 2020 was a milestone that forces a compulsory delisting from the US market if a foreign company fails to comply with the PCAOB’s review of its audit documents.
However, mainland China’s national security laws prohibit the sharing of certain financial and operational information with foreign corporations. For example, Mainland China’s Data Security Law[2] imposes strict controls on cross-border data transfers that directly conflict with U.S. requirements.
The combined impact of regulatory obstacles, delisting waves and geopolitical uncertainty have led to a structural realignment of world capital markets. In addition, the increasing popularity of personal market capital raising within the United States further reduced the attractiveness of IPOs.
Global PE funds raised $424.6 billion in the primary half of 2025, already greater than the overall raised in 2024. To date, only a smaller portion of mainland China company delistings have been because of PE acquisitions in comparison with forced delistings. However, greater flexibility, confidentiality, reduced disclosure requirements and strategic control make the private market an emerging attractive alternative.
This change will not be temporary. It is a structural recalibration of how corporations are listed, how investors value and where capital flows. As the US-China decoupling deepens, HKEX is positioning itself as a brand new gateway for mainland China’s global ambitions.
Investors might want to adapt because the mainland equity investment universe shifts from ADRs to Hong Kong SAR listings, reshaping liquidity, governance and valuation dynamics.
| Pursue | industry | Delisting date | Main reason | Voluntary or forced |
| Luckin Coffee | Food and Drink | June 2020 | cheating scandal; US investors lost $864 million | Forced |
| China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom | telecommunications | January 2021 | Executive order citing its ties to the Chinese military | Forced |
| CNOOC Ltd. | Oil and gas | Oct 2021 | National security concerns | Forced |
| Didi | Ride hailing | June 2022 | Data security concerns | Forced |
| ChinData | Data service | Dec. 2023 | Strategic takeover by a PE company | Voluntarily |
Table: Notable delistings of Chinese Corps on the US stock exchanges.
