CCP Asks U.S. Banks not to Expose Sensitive Research before 20th Congress

According to relevant media reports, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) securities regulatory commission contacted several U.S. banks with investments in China, including JPMorgan and Goldman, and told them not to release politically sensitive research reports ahead of the 20th Congress of the CCP next month. Potentially sensitive topics include the zero Covid-19 policy imposed by the CCP, and the country’s housing market collapse. The report said a recent JPMorgan report discussed the recent auditing and regulatory cooperation agreement signed by China and the United States, as well as the mortgage repayment protest movement in China.

JPMorgan and Goldman are two securities companies approved by the CCP to be wholly foreign-owned. Their operations in China are regulated by the CCP, the sources said. Over the past few years, China’s securities regulator had issued similar warnings to banks, brokerages and asset managers on the eve of major political events. Such warnings are intended to prevent issues in the country that would be detrimental to the smooth running of the event.

The CCP’s securities regulatory commission issued a warning to international banks, reflecting the CCP’s concerns ahead of the its 20th Congress, opening in Beijing on October 16th. The party’s leader, Xi Jinping, is expected to win his third term at the meeting, where the party’s senior leadership will deploy strategic tasks and major initiatives for the next five years.

At present, the news has spread within some banks. The reported media asked the CCP’s securities regulatory commission about this matter, and the reply was that the news was not true, please do not spread it.