The Biden administration is banning Americans from investing in dozens of Chinese defence and surveillance technology companies in an effort to stop US capital from being used by China to undermine national security.
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order to prohibit investments in 59 companies, including marquee Chinese groups such as Huawei, the telecoms equipment manufacturer, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China’s largest chipmaker, which US intelligence says is critical to the Chinese military.
The ban will take effect on August 2. But investors can make trades during the next 12 months to divest their holdings. While Americans are not required to divest the securities, they will be unable to sell their holdings after the one-year period without special approval from the US Treasury, which will oversee the new regime.