Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order (E.O.) to further address the ongoing national emergency declared in E.O. 13959 of November 12, 2020 with respect to the threat posed by the military-industrial complex of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). President Biden also expanded the scope of this national emergency by finding that the use of Chinese surveillance technology outside the PRC, as well as the development or use of Chinese surveillance technology to facilitate repression or serious human rights abuses, constitute unusual and extraordinary threats. This E.O. allows the United States to prohibit – in a targeted and scoped manner – U.S. investments in Chinese companies that undermine the security or democratic values of the United States and our allies.
Joe Biden Extends Donald Trump s Blacklist of Chinese Companies
On 6/3/21 at 3:19 PM EDT
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order to shore up and extend a ban on United States investments with certain Chinese companies that was first instituted by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Biden s order blacklists 59 companies tied to the Chinese military-industrial complex and surveillance industry and bars people in the United States from engaging in the purchase or sale with them. It takes effect at 12:01 a.m. (ET) on August 2.
In the order, Biden writes that he has determined that additional steps are necessary to address the national emergency first outlined by the Trump administration, with regards to China.
In an executive order, Biden barred U.S. investors from financial interests in 59 Chinese companies over fears of their links to the Chinese government s geopolitical ambitions, continuing some portions of the tough tact former President Donald Trump took in discussions with Beijing. This E.O. allows the United States to prohibit – in a targeted and scoped manner – U.S. investments in Chinese companies that undermine the security or democratic values of the United States and our allies, the White House said in a press release.
The measure bars U.S. dollars from supporting the Chinese defense sector, while also expanding the U.S. Government s ability to address the threat of Chinese surveillance technology firms that contribute both inside and outside China to the surveillance of religious or ethnic minorities or otherwise facilitate repression and serious human rights abuses, the administration added.