2023-08-09 23:15:17
US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing limits on US investment in certain Chinese technology companies, a move that could further strain relations with beijing.
This is one of the most important actions the Biden government has taken to restrict US investment in China and comes after months of talks with G7 members, who have been urged by Washington to take similar steps.
Specifically, the measure will bar US venture capital companies from investing in three key sectors of the Chinese economy: semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, senior US officials said during a telephone press conference.
In addition, the executive order states that U.S. citizens doing business in China must inform the US Government on investments made in semiconductorsquantum computing and artificial intelligence, three sectors in which China has made significant progress in recent years.
As reported by US government representatives, these three sectors have been selected because of the role they could play in developing China’s military, intelligence, surveillance and cyber capabilities.
The United States has taken this step for national security reasons, especially to prevent Beijing from using advanced US technological developments to modernize its Armed Forces, said the aforementioned officials.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has set the goal that by 2035 the country will experience significant progress in the social, economic and military fields, including strengthening the maritime capacity of the Armed Forces, which could pose a threat to Taiwan, a US ally.
In any case, the measure will not be applied automatically. A public comment period is now open in which the US government expects to receive input from interested parties, including companies with investments in China.
Therefore, the details on how will implement the executive order signed by Biden this Wednesday they are still to be defined, the aforementioned US officials informed the press.
One of the points that is being considered is the possibility that those who break the rules established by the US government could face criminal charges, although a decision has not yet been made on the matter.
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Tthe option of including exceptions is also being evaluated that allow US companies to continue investing in bonds and stocks of Chinese technology companies, the officials said.
In any case, the executive order may not take effect until next year, coinciding with the campaign for the presidential elections in which Biden seeks re-electionwhile the Republicans have yet to choose their candidate in a primary process, where former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) starts as a favorite.
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