China Urges US to Halt Investment Curbs Amid Tech Row

Beijing is calling on Washington to halt its expanding restrictions on American investments in China. On October 24, 2026, China's commerce ministry issued a statement urging the US to cease its proposed rule concerning sensitive technologies, asserting it would significantly disrupt established trade ties. The US Treasury Department had previously proposed updates to its outbound-investment security program on October 22, 2026, notably adding biotechnology and enhancing coverage for high-performance computing and hypersonic systems.

China's commerce ministry declared that this proposal "discriminatorily" widens restrictions related to China and intensifies existing curbs. The ministry firmly opposes the US initiative and has reserved the right to implement unspecified countermeasures. Beijing emphasized that the proposed US actions would harm bilateral economic relations and contradict the consensus previously reached by the presidents of both nations.

The US Treasury has indicated that these measures, which are not exclusively focused on China, are designed to prevent US capital from bolstering the development of dual-use strategic technologies by foreign adversaries that pose a threat to US national security. Previously, the US program had already imposed restrictions on certain US investments involving China in sectors like semiconductors, quantum technologies, and artificial intelligence.