Biden blocks 59 Chinese companies in amended Trump order

United States President Joe Biden’s position on Trump’s order has been closely watched by Wall Street and Capitol Hill, where legislators from both parties have called for a strong stance against China about issues ranging from trade to human rights.

President Joe Biden signed an order Thursday amending a ban on U.S. investment in Chinese companies begun under his predecessor, naming 59 firms with ties to China’s military or in the surveillance industry, including Huawei Technologies Co. and the country’s three biggest telecommunications companies. The ban on new investments will take effect Aug. 2 at 12:01 a.m. in New York, according to administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. Investors will have one year to fully divest. Biden’s order is largely a continuation of a policy issued by former President Donald Trump that was challenged in court and confused investors over the extent of its reach to subsidiaries of blocked companies. Biden’s position on Trump’s order has been closely watched by Wall Street and Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties have called for a strong stance against China over issues ranging from trade to human rights.