Biden intends to revise Trump's blacklist of Chinese companies

US President Joe Biden intends to revise a list of Chinese companies in which US investors are allowed to own shares as part of a reassessment of relations with world powers following the departure of his predecessor Donald Trump. At the same time, Biden allegedly plans to keep up the pressure on Beijing. Trump has banned Americans from buying shares in 31 Chinese companies that are considered suppliers or supporters of China's military and security apparatus. The so-called blacklist also includes major telecommunications, construction and technology companies such as China Mobile, China Telecom, video surveillance company Hikvision and China Railway Construction Corp. The investment ban was one of a series of measures taken by the previous US administration to curb the rise of the Asian giant. Relations between the world's two largest economies are very tense for these measures. Beijing on Thursday reiterated its outrage over the Trump-era blacklist and pledged to protect the rights of Chinese companies. It argued that the blacklist was "politically motivated" and "ignored the facts and the real situation" of companies. The ban "seriously undermines normal market rules and order and harms the interests of global investors, including US investors," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wen-pin at the briefing. According to a source who did not want to be named, the US Treasury Department has ordered Biden's order to compile a list of banned companies that have ties to the Chinese military technology industry. The president is expected to sign the order this week. Previously, sanctions and the selection of their targets were linked to a Ministry of Defense administration mandated by Congress. The revision comes after two Chinese companies successfully challenged blacklisting in court, and Biden said there was a need to make sure it was legally "waterproof and sustainable." But while the Biden government has pledged to take a more diplomatic stance on China than the previous administration, the president has also said he will stick to a strict line on several issues, including defense and technology. The blacklist is expected to remain largely intact, with the Ministry of Finance's Foreign Assets Control Office adding new companies in consultation with the Ministries of Defense. The US hard line to China has the rare support of all parties in the US, and lawmakers are determined to keep China's growing global influence in check.