U.S. President Joe Biden plans to issue an executive order that will further restrict U.S. investments in sensitive technology within China, according to multiple media reports.
The executive order issued by the president will also require that the U.S. federal government in Washington, D.C. be notified of certain investments American companies make in China.
The restrictions are aimed at preventing U.S. money and expertise from helping to develop technologies that could support China’s military and threaten U.S. national security.
President Biden has been signaling for months that he plans to block American investments in sensitive technologies in China and enhance the transparency of other U.S. investments in the nation of 1.4 billion people.
However, the Biden administration has also stressed that any restrictions on U.S. investments in China will be narrowly targeted and focus primarily on technology.
President Biden has already limited exports of U.S. microchips and semiconductors to China, also citing national security concerns.
The new executive order is expected to target investments in China of semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence (A.I.).
Most investments captured by the order will require that the U.S. federal government be notified about them, though some transactions might be prohibited.
Biden’s new executive order is not expected to take effect immediately and there is expected to be a comment period for industry to provide feedback.