(VOVWORLD) -US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday that bans US entities from investing in dozens of Chinese companies with alleged ties to defense or surveillance technology sectors.
The Treasury Department will enforce and update on a "rolling basis" the new list of about 59 companies, which bars buying or selling publicly traded securities in target companies, and replaces an earlier list from the Department of Defense.
The order prevents US investment from supporting the Chinese military-industrial complex, as well as military, intelligence, and security research and development programs, Biden said in the order.
Major Chinese firms included on the previous Defense Department list were also placed on the updated list, including Aviation Industry Corp of China, China Mobile Communications Group, Huawei, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).
SMIC is key to China's national drive to boost its domestic chip sector.