China blasts potential US investment curbs as 'economic coercion'

BEIJING: Beijing accused the United States on Friday (Apr 21) of "naked economic coercion and technological bullying", in response to Washington's potential new restrictions on US firms' ability to invest in Chinese entities.

The Biden administration is considering a programme to restrict certain US outbound investments involving specific sensitive technology with significant national security implications.

Beijing's ambitions in the tech sector have already been hit by existing measures imposed by Washington and its allies, with Chinese authorities doubling down on the need to move away from imports for key sectors such as semiconductors.

"The US is accustomed to politicising, instrumentalising, and weaponising issues of trade and technology under the guise of national security," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing.

"This is naked economic coercion and technological bullying," he added.

During a Thursday speech, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to allay concerns about the new measures, saying that they were "motivated solely by our concerns about our security and values".

But Beijing maintains the plans are intended to block its path to economic advancement as relations between the two countries continue to sour.

"The real aim of the US is to deprive China of its right to development and safeguard its own hegemony and self-interest," Wang said on Friday.

Yellen also referred to the previously proclaimed "no-limits partnership" between China and Russia, saying it was "essential" that Beijing refrains from providing Moscow with material support for the war in Ukraine.

When asked about Yellen's comments on Friday, Wang defended China's position on the conflict, contrasting it with what he called "certain countries practising double standards and adding fuel to the fire".

"China and Russia have always adhered to the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of third parties, and have developed a new type of major-country relationship featuring mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation," he said.