According to a US Treasury official, the new regulations, which go into effect on January 2, encompass technologies such as “cutting-edge code-breaking computer systems or next-generation fighter jets.”
According to reports, the Biden administration is finalizing regulations that will restrict US investments in China’s artificial intelligence and other technology industries that pose a risk to US national security.
An executive order signed by President Joe Biden in August 2023 directed the rules, which were suggested by the US Treasury in June and covered three important industries: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technology, and specific artificial intelligence systems.
The newly established Office of Global Transactions at Treasury will be in charge of enforcing the new regulations, which go into effect on January 2. The Treasury Department stated that the “narrow set of technologies is core to the next generation of military, cybersecurity, surveillance, and intelligence applications.”
For example, “cutting-edge code-breaking computer systems or next-generation fighter jets,” said Paul Rosen, a senior Treasury official, are covered by the rule.
He stated that “US investments, including the intangible benefits like managerial assistance and access to investment and talent networks that often accompany such capital flows, must not be used to help countries of concern develop their military, intelligence, and cyber capabilities.”
China’s reaction
The regulation is a component of a larger effort to stop US expertise from assisting China in creating advanced technology and controlling international markets.
Earlier this year, Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, stated that the regulations were essential in stopping China from creating military-related technologies.
Although there is a provision in the new regulations for US investment in publicly listed securities, officials stated that the US already has the authority under an earlier executive order to prohibit the purchase and sale of stocks of specific identified Chinese businesses.
In reaction, China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing was “strongly dissatisfied” with the executive order and reserved the right to protect its interests, calling it an attempt to “engage in anti-globalization and de-sinicization.”
