BEIJING (AP) — An American judge has ruled the China arms of global accounting firms should be barred from providing audits for U.S.-traded companies in a dispute that might force major corporate names such as oil giant PetroChina and search engine Baidu to withdraw from American stock exchanges.

The dispute highlights the clash between Washington’s heightened anti-fraud efforts and Beijing’s official secrecy despite its desire to profit from broader links with the global economy.