WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to block and regulate high-tech US-based investments going toward China a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest powers.
The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope.
The order seeks to blunt China’s ability to use US investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military while also preserving broader levels of trade that are vital for both nations’ economies.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded in a statement early Thursday that it has “serious concern” about the order and “reserves the right to take measures.” The US and China appear to be increasingly locked in a geopolitical competition with a conflicting set of values.
Meanwhile, China accused the US of trying to block its development. It said technology curbs should be repealed at the earliest by the US. The Foreign Ministry accused the Biden administration of pursuing “technology hegemony”.