Beijing shows strong opposition against new US executive order

Beijing expressed dissatisfaction and opposition on Thursday to Washington's single-minded rollout of restrictions on investments in China, and vowed to resolutely safeguard its rights and interests.

United States President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that will prohibit new US investment in China in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems.

The Foreign Ministry said it has lodged a stern representation with the US over the proposed investment restrictions, calling it blatant economic coercion and scientific and technological bullying with real purpose to deprive China of its right to development.

The US move violates the principles of market economy and fair competition, undermines the international economic and trading order, and destabilizes global industrial and supply chains, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

The act hurts the interests of both China and the US and the global business community, the spokesperson added.

"This is de-globalization and a move to phase China out," the spokesperson said.

China urges the US to fulfill Biden's commitment of holding no intention to decouple from China or obstruct China's economic development, stop politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing tech and trade issues, the statement said.

The US should revoke this wrong decision and remove the restrictions on investment in China and create an enabling environment for China-US business cooperation, the spokesperson said.