US orders ban on American investments in China tech sectors

The United States has announced a ban on certain American investments in some of China's tech sectors including Artificial Intelligence amid strained ties between both countries. 

President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will restrict US investments in three sectors in China — semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems. 

The US has made the decision in an effort to protect its national security by not helping China develop technologies that could support its military modernisation. 

The restrictions would be applied to narrow subsets of the three areas, said the US. 

The much-anticipated measures are aimed at private equity, venture capital, joint ventures and greenfield investments.

In a letter to Congress, Biden said he was dealing with the threat of advancement "in sensitive technologies and products critical to the military, intelligence, surveillance or cyber-enabled capabilities."

However, China said it was "gravely concerned". 

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said the US "has continuously escalated suppression and restrictions on China".

The order affects normal operation and decision-making of enterprises and undermines the international economic and trade order, a statement from the Chinese Commerce Ministry read.

The ministry also said it hopes the US will respect laws of the market economy and the principle of fair competition, and refrain from "artificially hindering global economic and trade exchanges and cooperation, or set up obstacles for the recovery of the world economy".

The Chinese foreign ministry said the country was "strongly dissatisfied" with and "resolutely opposes the US's insistence on introducing investment restrictions on China", having also lodged solemn representations with the US.

China urged the US to fulfil Biden's promise of no intention to decouple from China or obstruct China's economic development, the ministry said in a statement.

— Additional input from Reuters.