It started with the risk of delisting from US stock markets over auditing requirements, but there are other underlying risks for Chinese bioventures that ultimately only some form of bilateral governmental agreement may need to address, but this may be increasingly hard to reach.

US-listed Chinese biotechs are switching auditors in hopes of satisfying the US securities regulator's demands - but legal experts also see other considerations at play.

US-listed Chinese biotechs face a potential double-whammy from US rules requiring accounting transparency at the risk of delisting, while other challenges loom from a general regulatory crackdown and economic softening in China, along with rising COVID-19 cases.

Chinese companies publicly traded in the US – including BeiGene, HutchMed and Zai Lab – have three years to switch to accounting firms that can be investigated by the US government, or two years if a pending amendment is adopted.