Beijing on Thursday criticized new United States restrictions on investments in the country as a move towards "de-globalization and a move to phase China out."
China firmly opposes the U.S.' "single-minded rollout of restrictions on investments in China," said a Foreign Ministry statement, adding that Beijing has filed a "serious" protest with the U.S.
The statement followed U.S. President Joe Biden signing an executive order on Wednesday to curb some U.S. investments in China's technology sector.
Washington's new move is narrowly tailored to prohibit U.S. firms from funding investment in Chinese firms that develop advanced technologies "sensitive" to national security. That includes "technologies that are critical to the next generation of military innovation," according to one U.S. official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because the order had not yet been issued.
Specifically, it will prohibit U.S. investment in Chinese firms that develop semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems.
However, Beijing said, "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.
"This is blatant economic coercion and tech bullying, an act that seriously violates principles of market economy and fair competition, undermines international economic and trade order, destabilizes global industrial and supply chains, and hurts interests of both China and the U.S. besides the global business community," said the ministry.
Mentioning how Biden earlier committed not to seek to "decouple" from China or stymie China's economic development, Beijing addede, "We urge the U.S. to follow through on that commitment; stop politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing technology and trade issues; immediately cancel wrong decisions; remove restrictions on investments in China; and create a conducive environment for China-U.S. business cooperation."
"China will follow developments closely and resolutely safeguard our rights and interests," the statement noted.
