By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Aug 10 -- China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its official website on August 10 that China is gravely concerned and reserves the right to take measures in response to US President Joe Biden signing an executive order on August 9 that will block and regulate US-based high tech investments going toward China.

The US has restricted outbound investment by its companies and is engaged in "decoupling and severing supply chains" in the investment field under the guise of "de-risking," which has seriously deviated from the principles of market economy and fair competition advocated by the US side, and affected regular business decisions of enterprises, the ministry said.

Such moves have also undermined international economic and trade order and seriously disrupted the security of global industrial and supply chains, it added.

The ministry also said it hopes the U.S. will respect the laws of the market economy and the principle of fair competition and refrain from "artificially hindering global economic and trade exchanges and cooperation, or set up obstacles for the recovery of the world economy."

The response by China's Ministry of Commerce came after President Joe Biden on August 9 signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips and require government notification in other tech sectors.

The long-awaited order authorizes the U.S. Treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict U.S. investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems, reported Reuters on August 10.

The order is aimed at preventing American capital and expertise from helping China develop technologies that could support its military modernization and undermine U.S. national security. The measure targets private equity, venture capital, joint ventures, and greenfield investments, said Reuters.

Biden said in a letter to Congress he was declaring a national emergency to deal with the threat of advancement by countries like China "in sensitive technologies and products critical to the military, intelligence, surveillance or cyber-enabled capabilities," said the Reuters report.