News Desk: US President Joe Biden followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Donald Trump on the China question. He has ties to China’s military and is seeking to ban US citizens from investing in dozens of such technology and defense equipment companies.

According to the BBC, a White House official said 31 Chinese companies were under the Trump administration’s sanctions. Now it will increase to 59. Among them is the famous Chinese technology company Huawei. Biden’s executive order on the ban will take effect on August 2.

Under former President Trump, the country’s relations with China have plummeted. The two countries are facing off for a variety of reasons, including trade and diplomatic conflicts. The two countries also imposed reciprocal sanctions. In an executive order, Trump imposed sanctions on 31 companies, including well-known Chinese technology companies. Now his successor Biden has lengthened the list of sanctions.

Prior to the announcement, Chinese officials had said they would retaliate if the United States followed suit. But Biden did not heed Chinese officials’ warnings. Instead, it increased the scope of the ban. Under Biden’s new executive order, no one in the United States can buy or sell shares of banned Chinese companies.

Arguing for a new embargo on China, the White House official said the ban was aimed at preventing US citizens from investing in China’s military industry. He added that the targets of the sanctions have been set in such a way as to have the maximum impact on the organization concerned and the global markets suffer the least.

Huawei recently acknowledged the far-reaching effects of Trump’s sanctions on various companies, including Chinese technology, in 2019. The company has lost a lot of work abroad. Undoubtedly, the new sanctions will have a detrimental effect on Chinese institutions.

The Biden administration’s crackdown comes after reports surfaced of surveillance of the country’s citizens, including the Muslim Uighur minority in western China’s Xinjiang region. The Biden administration has accused China of persecuting and aggressing at home and abroad.

On the Biden administration’s move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China would retaliate in accordance with the law to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese institutions.