US President Joe Biden will this week review a regulation by his predecessor Donald Trump that Americans will be allowed to invest in, as the Democratic leader seeks to reconsider relations between the two superpowers and keeps pressure on Beijing.
Donald Trump has banned investment in 31 Chinese companies deemed linked to the Chinese state´s military and security complex.
The list included large groups in the fields of construction, communications and technology, such as China Railway Group, China Mobile Communications and China Telecom, as well as Hikvision for digital technology.
At the time, the decision was part of a series of measures taken by the White House to contain the Chinese giant, which inflamed the tension in Sino-US relations.
Relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorated under Trump, overshadowed by a two-year trade dispute.
In January 2020, the two countries signed a trade agreement to end the conflict, before the world was paralyzed by the Covid-19 epidemic.
The amendment that the Biden administration is seeking is based on the Treasury Department issuing a list of companies that will be subject to financial sanctions in light of their relations with Chinese groups that follow the defense and surveillance technologies sectors, according to Bloomberg Agency, without citing sources, while indicating that President Biden’s signature is expected during the current week. .
The Department of Defense was entrusted with defining sanctions and selecting targets in a report it would issue based on congressional authorization.
The expected amendment follows the success of two legal disputes brought by Chinese companies, while Joe Biden expressed his desire to ensure the legality and permanence of the measures.
On Thursday, China denounced the "politically motivated" ban measures adopted by the United States during the era of Donald Trump, "completely ignoring" the reality of the companies concerned.
"The United States should respect the rule of law" and "stop taking measures harmful to the global financial market," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
"China will take the necessary measures to vigorously protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," he said during a regular briefing.
Joe Biden wants to maintain a tough policy on China in several areas, including defense and technology, after his administration embarked on a more diplomatic path with Beijing than the Trump administration.
Biden is likely to keep much of the list, but the Treasury Department´s Office of Foreign Assets Control will add new companies to it after consulting with the Departments of Defense and State.
And the tough policy toward China enjoys a rare consensus between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, whose members are watching the growing global influence of Beijing.
Over the weekend, Republican senators Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio issued a letter signed by their fellow Democrats Gary Peters and Mark Kelly, calling on the administration to issue a new regulation.
"The US government must continue to act resolutely to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from preying on our industrial base," the text said.
