President Trump Pressures China... Orders Investment Ban on IB and Pension Funds

Ban on Investment in Companies Owned or Controlled by Chinese Military
Executive Order to Take Effect from January 11 Next Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As the U.S. government's pressure on China materializes through an executive order, direct restrictions have been imposed on investments in Chinese state-owned enterprises.

According to Bloomberg on the 13th (local time), President Trump signed an executive order banning U.S. investments in Chinese companies owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

The executive order states that China is increasingly exploiting U.S. capital to develop and modernize its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses, which poses a threat to the United States. Under the order, investment banks (IBs) and pension funds are prohibited from trading stocks of 31 designated Chinese companies identified by the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon).

The list of sanctioned companies reportedly includes China Telecom, China Mobile, and Hikvision. China Telecom is China's largest state-owned telecommunications company, and China Mobile is the country's top mobile carrier. Hikvision, the world's largest CCTV manufacturer, has previously been sanctioned by the U.S. government for cooperating in the Chinese government's human rights abuses against ethnic minorities.

China has called for the withdrawal of the executive order, accusing the U.S. of suppressing Chinese companies. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticized at a regular briefing on the 13th, saying, "The United States is slandering China's military-civil fusion development policy," and added, "This measure seriously damages not only the interests and legal rights of Chinese companies but also the interests of foreign investors, including those from the United States."

Meanwhile, the executive order will take effect on January 11 of next year. Investors holding these stocks will be given a one-year period to dispose of their shares.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.