Lawyers have serious doubts that an agreement reached between Chinese and U.S. regulators to allow U.S. authorities to vet audits of U.S.-listed companies will pave the way for unfettered access to Chinese issuers' documents, a move that, if successful, could ease commercial tensions between the U.S. and China.

And should practical implementation fail, that, coupled with a proposed law that would require the U.S. government to assess all outbound investments, could further damage the fractious relationship that currently exists between the two countries, they say.