U.S. President Joe Biden has signed an order that bans U.S. investments in 59 Chinese companies that have ties to China’s military or surveillance industry.
The ban on new investments takes effect on August 2 of this year and includes Huawei Technologies and China’s three biggest telecommunications companies. Investors will have one year to fully divest their holdings in the banned Chinese companies.
Biden’s order is a continuation of a policy issued by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Many of the companies listed in Biden’s order were already on the Trump administration’s list, including the nation’s largest telecoms: China Mobile Communications Group, China Unicom and China Telecommunications.
Among the defense companies on Biden’s list are Aviation Industry Corp. of China, which is one of the best known of the Chinese military giants; China North Industries Group; China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and China Shipbuilding Industry.
Biden’s list also includes Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, the developer of surveillance cameras and facial-recognition technology that has helped Chinese authorities roll out “safe city” initiatives in Xinjiang, where ethnic Uyghurs have faced persecution
Companies on Biden’s list that weren’t included in Trump’s initial ban include Zhonghang Electronic Measuring Instruments and Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry.
Under Biden’s order, the investment prohibitions apply to subsidiaries of companies only if they are listed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. The amended order clarifies that the measures will no longer apply to companies whose names closely match the listed entities.
The list of banned Chinese companies will be coordinated and managed going forward by the U.S. State and Defense departments.