The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) wants to continue to do business with the Chinese community, though some Chinese companies chose to have a dual listing or go private, according to an executive at the NYSE.

"Our relationship with China hasn't changed, and we will hope to continue to be there and continue to do business with the Chinese communities," said Alex Ibrahim, head of the international capital markets at the NYSE, on Thursday.

Speaking at an online press briefing, Ibrahim said the NYSE is committed to China and even has an office in Beijing with three people on the ground. 

Ibrahim said it's healthy to have a dynamic marketplace where "you have shares traded in one time zone, shares traded in another time zone." 

In January, the NYSE triggered controversy by issuing flip-flop announcements regarding the delisting of three Chinese telecom operators, as demanded by an executive order of the former U.S. administration issued in November 2020.

In recent months, some Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group, NetEase, and JD.com, have floated their shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in addition to their initial public offerings on the NYSE or Nasdaq.

Ibrahim sees this phenomenon as part of the market evolution and praised the good liquidity of the Hong Kong stock market.

"We're very excited about what we see now because the pipeline (for IPOs) from China is huge," added Ibrahim, who expects China will be the number one in terms of issues on the NYSE in 2021 aside from the United States.

Citing robust market activities in January, Ibrahim said 2021, in general, will be a good year for listings.

The NYSE posted one of its best years in 2020, with companies raising over $180 billion through IPOs or follow-on offerings, according to Ibrahim.