The order, which won’t go into effect until next year, won’t be retroactive and excludes sectors such as biotechnology. It may end up exempting passive investments as well as those in publicly traded securities, index funds and others assets.
The US already limits exports of some sensitive technologies to China, and the order “would prevent US investments from helping accelerate the indigenization of these technologies” in what it called countries of concern, the White House said in a release. The order defined that as China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing later called on Washington to respect market principles and fair play instead of obstructing the global economic recovery. A relatively low-key rollout on Wednesday showcased how cautious the White House is about ratcheting up tensions with China. Instead of announcing it in the presence of media and giving public remarks on the matter — as is often the case for executive orders — Mr Biden opted to sign it while out of town and without cameras. The president was traveling in New Mexico to promote his “Bidenomics” agenda and didn’t address the order.