February
2025
An executive order issued by President Donald Trump announced an “America First Investment Policy” seeking to limit trade and investment ties between the United States and China. The order, which broadly seeks to attract investment into the U.S. from allied countries while restricting Chinese investments in infrastructure, energy, and emerging technologies, calls for a number of federal rule changes which have yet to take place. Policies proposed within the order include a new process to fast-track investment deals with friendly countries and lower environmental review standards for foreign investment, as well as new directives ordering the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to ban and scrutinize more Chinese investments.
Summary
While the America First Investment Policy executive order likely signals that the Trump administration intends to continue the hardline approach towards Chinese foreign investment that defined former President Joe Biden’s administration, it remains to be seen how the executive order will actually be implemented. In the short term, this order signals that it will be difficult for the Chinese government to offer large-scale Chinese investment in US industries as a concession in upcoming trade negotiations. The longer-term impacts of the proposed investment strategy and its implementation, however, will depend on internal debates within the administration as to what policy changes to adopt: for example, the order gestures at a number of policies, such as restrictions on US outbound investment in China, that key administration figures including Elon Musk have strongly opposed.
Analysis
