Companies get say on Biden executive order restricting China tech investments

President Joe Biden’s recent executive order to restrict certain outbound investments to China offers an opportunity for companies to help shape the program.

The goal of the Aug. 9 order is to stem the flow of U.S. dollars into countries of concern, whose military or surveillance efforts might benefit from the funds, while not impeding the overall atmosphere of open investment in the United States. An annex to the order lists China, including the regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as the only country of concern.

The executive order is “narrowly targeted,” the White House said in a briefing, and authorizes the Treasury Department to regulate investments by U.S. persons or entities in semiconductors, microelectronics, and quantum information technologies. It requires notification about U.S. investments in some artificial intelligence technologies, and it prohibits investments in other types of AI.