WASHINGTON: Beijing is very disappointed that the Biden administration is moving forward with plans to roll out new restrictions on US economic investment in China, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Sputnik in a statement.
“Despite China’s repeated expression of deep concerns, the US went ahead with new investment restrictions. The Chinese side is very disappointed at this,” Liu said on Wednesday.
“The economic and trade relationship between China and the US is mutually beneficial in nature. Two-way investment is an important area of bilateral trade.”
Earlier today, the White House announced that President Joe Biden is signing an executive order that authorises the secretary of the Treasury to regulate certain US investments into Chinese entities engaged in activities involving national security sensitive technologies in three sectors – semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems.
A senior US administration official said Biden imposed the new measures after a thoughtful, deliberate assessment, which included extensive consultations with allies and partners in the US Congress, industry and stakeholders.
According to the Chinese Embassy, so far there are more than 70,000 US companies doing business in China, and the stock of bilateral investment has exceeded US$240 billion.
“The latest investment restrictions will seriously undermine the interests of Chinese and American companies and investors, hinder the normal business cooperation between the two countries and lower the confidence of the international community in the US business environment,” Liu said.
Liu said the US overuses national security concerns to politicise and weaponise trade, scientific and technological issues, and to deliberately create obstacles to normalise economic and trade exchanges and technological cooperation.
The US restrictions on trade and cooperation with China decouples and severs supply chains from China, Liu said.
Beijing urges the US to not seek to “decouple” China, halt China’s economic development or contain China, the embassy spokesperson said.
China will closely follow the situation and “firmly” safeguard its rights and interests, Liu said. – BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
