China urges US to halt proposed expansion of outbound investment curbs

On October 24, China's Commerce Ministry called on the United States to halt its proposed expansion of restrictions on outbound investments, arguing that the new rule would harm trade ties. On Thursday, the US Treasury Department had released plans to update its outbound-investment security program, which included adding biotechnology to the list of restricted sectors and broadening coverage of high-performance computing and hypersonic systems.

Beijing's Commerce Ministry dismissed the proposal as discriminatory and intensifying curbs, firmly opposing it and reserving the right to take unspecified countermeasures. The ministry further stated that the proposal would damage bilateral economic relations and go against the consensus reached by the presidents of the two countries, who have met twice in the past six months.

The US Treasury Department explained that the measures, which do not solely target China, aim to prevent US capital from fueling foreign adversaries' development of dual-use strategic technologies that could threaten US national security. The program has already restricted certain US investments in China related to semiconductors, quantum technologies, and artificial intelligence.