President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order barring Americans from investing in a collection of Chinese companies that the White House believes support Beijing’s military.
The order prohibits American companies and individuals from owning shares — outright or through investment funds — in companies the administration says help the advancement of the People’s Liberation Army.
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is increasingly exploiting United States capital to resource and to enable the development and modernization of its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses,” the president said in the order.
That investment “continues to allow the PRC to directly threaten the United States homeland and United States forces overseas, including by developing and deploying weapons of mass destruction, advanced conventional weapons, and malicious cyber-enabled actions against the United States and its people.”