Biden Signed an Executive Order Barring American Investments in Chinese Defense and Surveillance Companies
President Biden signed an executive order Thursday to prohibit investments in Chinese defense and surveillance firms that produce or use technology to facilitate human rights abuses, expanding a Trump-era order issued last year.
The new order is designed to bar U.S. investments in Chinese companies that produce or deploy surveillance technology used to repress individuals such as Muslim majority Uyghurs in Xinjiang and activists in Hong Kong or others throughout the world.
The order lists 59 Chinese firms that are subject to the prohibitions, but the White House said that it would update the list “as appropriate,” meaning more companies could be added to it. The order takes effect on Aug. 2, approximately two months from the date that Biden signed it.
