National security officials, led by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, have been advocating for months for President Joe Biden to issue an executive order that would prohibit many American investments in Chinese technology firms and startups, arguing it is needed to ensure U.S. banks aren’t helping Chinese firms develop software or devices later used by the People’s Liberation Army.
But the Treasury and Commerce departments are pushing back, said two industry officials with knowledge of the talks, arguing that new rules would dramatically reduce new U.S. business in China and put American firms at a competitive disadvantage to European and Asian banks that will continue to access the world’s second largest economy.
