Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Although the tenure of the incumbent President of the United States (US) Donald Trump is strongly predicted to be only two months away, the conflict with China seems to be heating up.
On Thursday (12/11/2020) Trump signed an executive order prohibiting Americans, both companies and individuals, from investing in Chinese companies believed to support Beijing’s military.
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is increasingly exploiting US capital for resources and enabling the development and modernization of military, intelligence and other security tools,” the President said in the order, quoted Friday (11/13/2020).
The ban will take effect from 9:30 a.m. (US time) on January 11, 2021. There are 31 companies identified by the Defense Ministry as “Chinese Communist military partners” including Chinese technology giant Huawei.
In detail, the US considers that these companies enable the evolution of China’s military through access to advanced technology. The US said it was “aiming for Beijing’s aggressive global expansion”.
The order came after repeated warnings from Trump’s Department of National Security and economic team, which said stricter action needed to be taken to avoid ‘American exposure’ to companies that support China’s military ambitions.
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien has led government calls to crack down on US investment in Chinese companies.
He stated that this measure was to protect the US public from the threat of the Chinese Army while accusing Beijing of a massive infiltration to influence the public in developing its weapons.
“The President’s actions serve to protect American investors from inadvertently providing capital used to enhance the intelligence capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Republic of China,” O’Brien said.
“Beijing’s intelligence services routinely target American citizens and businesses through cyber operations, and directly threaten the critical infrastructure, economy and military of America and its allies and partners around the world.”
As is known, from the results of a quick count of the US media, Trump lost to his challenger Joe Biden. He only got 214 electoral votes while Biden was 290.
However, Trump thinks Biden won fraudulently. He admitted that there would not be an easy transition.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared the same opinion. Instead, he said there would be a smooth transition for Trump’s second term in office. He also said that US affairs with China had not been finalized.
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