The administration of US President Joe Biden is considering moves that would restrict US investment in Chinese technology companies amid growing tensions between the two countries, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The investment curbs taking shape would likely come as an executive order to be signed by Biden in the coming months, one of the people said.
A separate action against TikTok, a hugely popular video-sharing app owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), is possible, but no action is imminent, the person added.
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The US Department of Commerce might place further restrictions on chips used for artificial intelligence computing, they said..
The White House is in discussions with the US Congress on legislation requiring companies to disclose planned investments in certain Chinese industries, the other person said.
Among options being discussed is the establishment of a system that would give the US government the authority to block investments outright, the second person said.
The executive order would be part of a broader strategy, they said, adding that the US recently curbed sales of semiconductors to China and Russia.
Last month, Biden signed into law a broad competition measure that includes about US$52 billion to bolster domestic semiconductor research and development.
The White House declined to comment on Friday.
TikTok representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The commerce department expects to by the end of the year have an update on steps to protect Americans’ data from foreign-owned apps, the department’s press office said earlier this week.
US companies are under increasing government scrutiny over what they sell to China, whose electronics factories and consumers make it the biggest buyer of chips.
Washington has been tightening restrictions on sales to the country, arguing that it represents a security risk.
Nvidia Corp shares tumbled on Thursday after the chipmaker said new rules on the export of some artificial intelligence chips could affect hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
The executive order might be intended to address some of the concerns contemplated in the draft “national critical capabilities defense act” introduced by US senators John Cornyn and Bob Casey, Biden administration sources said on condition of anonymity.
The US has up to now pursued a patchwork policy that has stopped short of flat-out locking Chinese firms out of the chip industry.
It has concentrated on singling out individual companies, such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯), that it has accused of being a threat to national security.
Both companies deny the allegations.
Recent steps indicate that the administration is leaning toward a more hawkish stance of banning Chinese access to whole swaths of technology, experts have said.
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