The Trump Administration is looking for ways to pressure China to change its trade practices, but how about not hurting the U.S. along the way? The latest shoot-self-in-foot moment came Friday when word leaked that the White House may restrict bilateral U.S.-China investment. Bloomberg News reported that the Administration may also block Chinese companies like Alibaba from listing on U.S. stock exchanges.

Rising stock prices went in reverse, and that’s no surprise. A blanket ban on bilateral investment is a good way to hurt America while making Chinese reform less likely.

The delisting of Chinese companies is especially foolish. American financial exchanges are sources of U.S. economic strength, but they compete in a global market. Foreign firms can choose to list in London or Hong Kong or Frankfurt as easily as on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange. Banning Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges would merely hurt those American businesses and U.S. capital markets. The damage to the Chinese firms would be minor because investors would still be able to raise capital elsewhere.

One benefit of listing on U.S. exchanges is that it obliges foreign firms to meet American regulatory standards for disclosure to investors. The White House would not be protecting American investors by forcing Chinese companies to list on foreign stock exchanges where the rules are less rigorous.

A ban on bilateral capital flows would be even more destructive. Hundreds of American firms already do business in China, many of them profitably, and they will need to keep investing to stay competitive. Direct U.S. investment in China from 1990 to June 2019 was $276.38 billion, according to the U.S.-China FDI Project. An arbitrary ban on investment could make much of that a stranded investment that would hurt those companies and inevitably their employees in America too.