US President Donald Trump signed an “America First Investment Policy” memorandum on Saturday, ordering the use of “all necessary legal instruments” to curb Chinese-affiliated investments in critical sectors.
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The order, issued hours after Vice-Premier He Lifeng spoke with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, has sparked concerns among Chinese investors and heightened tensions between the two economic powers.
This explainer breaks down the policy’s scope, its implications for Hong Kong and Macau, and the potential impacts on China.
What are the key areas the policy covers?
The memorandum said the administration would restrict China-affiliated people from investing in American technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials and other strategic sectors, while also deterring Americans from investing in China’s military-industrial sector.
The Trump administration also plans to review whether to suspend or terminate the 1984 tax treaty between the countries on the grounds that it, along with other factors, contributed “to the deindustrialisation of the United States and the technological modernisation of the PRC military”.
The memorandum also considers new or expanded restrictions on US outbound investment in China “in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, biotechnology, hypersonics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, directed energy, and other areas implicated by [China’s] national military-civil fusion strategy”.
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“Economic security is national security,” the memorandum says, adding that China “does not allow United States companies to take over their critical infrastructure, and the United States should not allow [China]to take over United States critical infrastructure”.
The memorandum does not provide a clear timeline of actions.