US Strengthens Foreign Investment Screening, Considers Controls on Overseas Investments

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Advisor, stated on the 16th (local time) that the U.S. is pursuing measures to control overseas investments by American companies in order to protect advanced U.S. technologies from competitors such as China.

In a speech at the 'Global Emerging Technologies Summit' held in Washington DC on the same day, Sullivan said, "There has been progress in developing an approach to handle outbound investments in sensitive technologies." He explained, "This is particularly targeted at investments that cannot be controlled by export controls and that enhance the technological capabilities of competitor countries in the most sensitive areas."

This is similar in context to recent major foreign media reports that the White House is considering an executive order that would allow security risk reviews of U.S. companies' investments in China and potentially block such investments.

President Joe Biden also issued an executive order the previous day to thoroughly oversee foreign investments from a national security perspective to protect supply chains and critical technologies.

Regarding this, Sullivan said that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) executive order would help protect technology, adding, "We will continue to review whether additional measures are needed to enable CFIUS to protect U.S. investors from predatory foreign investments." Especially concerning "protecting technological superiority," he warned about China, stating, "Our competitors are increasingly using sophisticated means to illegally acquire sensitive technologies, information, and know-how, so we must respond accordingly."

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