The Chinese business community firmly opposes the US’ repeated expansion of the concept of “national security,” which continuously hinders economic and trade exchanges between the industries of the two countries, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) stated on Monday, urging the US to lift restrictions on two-way investment related to the “America First Investment Policy” memorandum, which tightens security reviews targeting investments from China.
“We urge the US to respect the principles of market economy and fair competition, clarify the boundaries of national security in the economic and trade fields, remove restrictions on two-way investment between China and the US, and create a favorable environment for mutually beneficial cooperation between the business communities of both countries,” CCPIT said in a statement.
On one hand, the US restricts Chinese enterprises from investing in American technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials, and other fields through measures such as investment security reviews. On the other hand, it further expands the scope of industries, types of investments, and funding sources subject to investment restrictions on China through economic sanctions, financial audits, and other means, read the statement.
CCPIT stressed that once these measures are implemented, they will severely impact the normal business decision-making of enterprises, undermine the international economic and trade order, and disrupt the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.
According to a White House release, US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a memorandum, titled “America First Investment Policy,” to curb Chinese investments in strategic sectors.
The policy aims to “promote foreign investment while protecting America’s national security interests, particularly from threats posed by foreign adversaries like China,” read the release.
Earlier on Saturday, China’s Ministry of Commerce slammed the US’ new curbs on two-way investments with China, urging the US to stop politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade issues and vowing to take necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
The move, which generalizes the national security concept, is discriminatory and a “typical non-market practice,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.
The spokesperson said that the US decision to tighten security reviews targeting investments from China will seriously undermine the Chinese enterprises’ confidence in investing in the US.
Meanwhile, many US business associations and enterprises have already expressed concerns that restrictions on US investment in China will lead to US enterprises losing the Chinese market to other competitors, the spokesperson noted.
Global Times
