US President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded a black list of prohibited Chinese companies for American investors for their relationship with “military industrial complex,” in the continued pressure campaign sign in China.
Former US President Donald Trump has banned Americans from buying shares in 31 Chinese companies that are considered to supply or support Chinese military and security equipment, and Biden’s move extends the black list to 59.
The latest batch of corporate sanctions targets involved in China’s supervision technology used to “facilitate serious human rights repression or violations,” which “weakens the security or values of our US democracy and allies,” according to the White House statement.
The initial list published under Trump includes telecommunications companies, construction, and major technology such as China Mobile, China Telecom, Hikvision Video Supervision Company, and China Railway Construction Corp.
It includes a series of steps by the White House aimed at Asian giants, which have left the relationship between the two tense countries.
Before the US order was released, Beijing repeated his anger at the Trump-era blacklist Thursday and vowed to protect the rights of Chinese companies, claiming blacklists “politically motivated” and “ignoring the facts and actual situations” from the company involved.
The prohibition of “very damaging normal market rules and ordered” and “damage … the benefit of global investors, including US investors,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a routine briefing.
Previously, sanctions and target choices related to the Defense Department report mandated by Congress.
While Biden administration has promised to take a more diplomatic line with China after his predecessor’s upheaval, he said he would keep a strict line on several problems including defense and technology.
The difficult lines in China have rare cross-party support in Congress, with parliamentarians determined to keep the lid on developing global influence.
Senator Republic of Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio, along with Democrats Gary Peters and Mark Kelly, published a Bi-partisan letter earlier this week urged the administration to publish a new list.
“The US government must continue to act boldly in blocking the economic predation of the Chinese Communist Party to our industrial bases,” they said.