U.S. Treasury officials are discussing the possibility of greatly restricting Chinese investment into American tech companies, sources told Bloomberg, citing a seldom-invoked law concerning national security.
Any such restrictions would complement recent findings of an investigation commissioned by the Trump White House into unfair and illegal obtainment of U.S. intellectual property by Chinese companies. The President has now charged Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin with identifying sectors which could be no-go zones for Chinese money.
The most likely contenders to make the shortlist are semiconductors and 5G wireless communications, the sources said, two fields in which the US is currently pushing China to reduce its trade imbalance.