China strongly deplores U.S. investment restrictions: ministries

(ECNS) --A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the U.S. to follow through on its commitment, stop politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing tech and trade issues, immediately cancel its wrong decisions, remove restrictions on investments in China, and create an enabling environment for China-U.S. business cooperation.

According to media reports, in the early morning of Thursday, Beijing time, U.S. President Biden signed an executive order on setting up a screening mechanism on outbound investments and restricting U.S. investments in the semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence sectors in China.

The spokesperson said that China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the U.S. single-minded rollout of restrictions on investments in China.

“Restricting U.S. companies’ investments in China with national security as a front is a clear act of overstretching the concept of security and politicizing business engagement.”

“The move's real aim is to deprive China of its right to develop and selfishly pursue U.S. supremacy at the expense of others,” said the spokesperson.

“This is blatant economic coercion and tech bullying, an act that seriously violates the principles of market economy and fair competition, undermines the international economic and trading order, destabilizes global industrial and supply chains and hurts the interests of both China and the U.S. and the global business community,” it was stressed.

This executive order is regarded as an act of de-globalization and a move to phase China out.

President Biden is urged not to “decouple” from China or halt its economic development.

The spokesperson further added that China will follow related developments closely and resolutely safeguard its rights and interests.

According to remarks by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Thursday, China wishes that the U.S. respect the law of the market economy and free trade rules and refrain from arbitrarily placing curbs on global economic and trade exchange and cooperation.