White House to detail plans restricting some US investments in China: Source

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: The White House on Wednesday (Aug 9) will detail its plans to prohibit some US investments in sensitive technology in China, and require that the government be notified of other investments, a senior government source told Reuters.

The plans are aimed at preventing US capital and expertise from helping develop technologies that could support China’s military modernisation and threaten US national security.

Reuters reported on Friday that President Joe Biden was expected to soon issue a the long-awaited executive order to screen outbound investments in sensitive technologies to China this week.

The senior government source said that order is expected Wednesday. The White House declined to comment on Tuesday.

Biden administration officials have stressed for months any restrictions on US investment in China will be narrowly targeted.

“These are tailored measures,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in April. “They are not, as Beijing says, a ‘technology blockade’.”

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in March the administration did not “want to be overly broad … anything that’s overly broad hurts American workers and the economy”.

The administration is expected to target active investment such as US private equity, venture capital and joint venture investments in China in semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

Most investments captured by the order will require that the government be notified about them, sources have said. Some transactions will be prohibited.