U.S. President Joe Biden on June 3 signed an executive order banning Americans from investing in some Chinese companies.
It is an expansion of a Trump-era order that prohibited Americans investing in certain Chinese companies with alleged ties to the country’s military and surveillance efforts, calling the entities a threat to American interests and values.
In an executive order (E.O.), the Biden administration broadened the list of U.S. investors, barring them from investing in 59 Chinese companies over fears of their association with the Chinese government’s geopolitical ambitions continuing with the former President Donald Trump’s decision.
Aero Engine Corp. of China, Fujian Torch Electron Technology, Aerosun Corp. and Huawei Technologies are a few among the 59 banned companies.
“This E.O. prohibits the United States investors from engaging in the purchase or sale of any publicly traded securities of any Chinese companies that undermine the security or democratic values of the U.S. and its allies,” the press release describing the ban- will take effect on August 2- by The White House read.
The prohibited activities include U.S. currency from supporting the “Chinese defence sector expanding the American Government’s power to address the threat of Chinese surveillance technology companies that contribute to the monitoring of religious or ethnic minorities or raises serious human rights violation issues,” the government added.
Although the E.O. is not detailed on how the surveillance technology has been used, American officials have often raised the alarm over facial recognition and other monitoring tools that China has deployed against its Uyghur minority population and Hong Kong protesters.
Chinese firms also export a wide range of technology that could be used for surveillance, flaming a global competition between “techno-democracies and techno-autocracies,” stated Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State.
The move by the Trump administration is one of the most thoughtful decision and another sign that Biden is continuing Trump’s predecessor’s difficult approach toward China. The Biden administration also maintained import tariffs that Trump imposed on many Chinese products and implemented a separate executive order in March by sending a writ petition to various Chinese companies seeking information on national security risks.
Criticizing and challenging the move by the Biden administration, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told addressing the press that the Trump administration’s original order was executed with “total disagreed of facts.”
Former President Donald Trump ordered to ban 48 firms earlier.
