By: BBC News Mundo
Monday, October 7
Biden's new order against Chinese companies reinforces Washington's tough position on Beijing
Biden maintains and expands the measures against China spearheaded by his predecessor.
The president of the United States decided to prohibit US investments in a dozen technology and defense companies from China with alleged military ties.
The new executive order, reported by the White House this week, takes effect on August 2 and will affect 73 signatures of the Asian country, including the giant Huawei and the three largest telecommunications companies in the nation.
This is an extension of the order previously signed by his predecessor, Donald Trump, which promoted a tightening of the position with China and led some experts to warn of a “new cold war.”
Even before the official announcement of the White House, China suggested that would take action in response and co n ordered the measure.
What does the order consist of
The The decree expands the scope of another executive order signed last November by former President Trump, which vetoed the country’s investments in some thirty Chinese companies for allegedly supporting the efforts of Beijing’s intelligence, military and security apparatuses.
The purpose of the veto is to ensure that US investments “ do not support the Chinese defense sector” , explained the Biden White House.
“The prohibitions are focused intentionally to maximize impact while minimizing damage to global markets, “added the authorities.
It also seeks to prevent the benefit of companies whose surveillance technologies “contribute, inside or outside of China, to espionage religious or ethnic minorities; or they facilitate repression and serious human rights abuses, ”he added.
The move comes amid serious complaints about human rights violations by China against Uyghurs, in the Xinjiang region, where surveillance used on this group is under scrutiny.
- “Children are separated from their families and sent to orphanages”: New reports of abuse against Uyghurs in China
- The United States accuses China of committing “genocide” against the Uighurs in Xinjiang
The Biden government has also accused Beijing of acting more aggressively in the abroad and increase repression in their territory.
Various Chinese companies included in the list have considered “infundad to s ” Washington’s accusations.
In fact, Xiaomi one of the leading global mobile phone manufacturers and Huawei’s main competitor in the Chinese market, filed a lawsuit in the US federal courts and won, forcing the US government to remove it from its blacklist.
In the current list, however, are the three largest telecommunications companies of the Asian giant : China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.
Huawei, another major affected, recently said that the sanctions imposed by the United States on 2019 had a great impact in its cell phone business.
The White House also plans to regularly expand that list, and will give US investors a year to ditch its s active in these firms.
Response from China
Beijing condemned the decision on Friday and denounced that the United States “has unscrupulously repressed and restricted Chinese companies.”
The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Asian country Wang Wenbin expressed the China’s “strong opposition” to the order, which it considered damages “not only the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also global investors, including Americans.”
“Biden’s blockade of 59 companies sign a modified Trump order ‘will only lift a stone that will fall on its own feet’ , according to experts ”, headlined the nationalist newspaper Global Times 
, calling it the “most comprehensive” order against China since the Democrat took office.
In art icle, the official newspaper collected opinions from experts in the country who warned that the growing technological war between China and the United States “will not change with the Biden government” and that the new president is leading a “more complete and profound strategy” to compete with Beijing.
The measure comes after both powers resumed trade negotiations by telephone.
In their first “meeting” under the presidency of Biden last month, representatives of both countries held a dialogue to try to “develop bilateral trade”, stalled since 2018 for the trade war started by Trump .
“Both parties maintained sincere, pragmatic and constructive exchanges with an attitude egalitarian and mutual respect, “reported the Ministry of Commerce of China.
However, Biden has insisted that the existing tariffs will be maintained for now, as he tries to boost the US economy, affected seriously at the beginning of the pandemic but in the process of recovery.
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