Interview: Biden's new ban on China "aimed in wrong direction," says U.S. professor

NEW YORK, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's new executive order to limit U.S. investments in advanced technology industries in China is "aimed in the wrong direction," said an American professor on Wednesday.

The order restricting certain types of foreign investment and capital flows into China represents just "another punitive step in an effort to contain China," Denis Simon, a professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Xinhua.

Noting that it's aimed in the wrong direction, the professor said the move will very likely leave China "further bewildered about U.S. strategic goals and objectives."

"One must wonder what the end game here looks like and what might be the underlying strategy that informs such actions," he said, adding that the Biden administration has revealed "a penchant for speaking out of both sides of its mouth."

It sent senior level officials such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to Beijing "seemingly to mend fences and build positive momentum in bilateral relationship, and then in the very same breadth it adopts further restrictions and prohibitions that send an entirely different message," Simon said.

"How can we expect China's cooperation on key global issues when we continue to send such mixed signals?" he said.

"Our actions will likely have only very minimal impact at best," he said. "The political message to China, however, will be loud and clear: you remain a threat and our actions reflect that thinking."

The professor suggested it is time for the Biden Administration to "stop being the instrument for the anti-China coalition that exists in Congress and other parts of the Beltway."

The United States needs a "more coherent, comprehensive, well integrated China policy" that incentivizes bilateral cooperation in such areas as climate change and global epidemics.

"Ad hoc, piecemeal approaches do not add up to an effective China policy, even in the short term. U.S. policy ought to be aimed at rebuilding trust and revitalizing the relationship for the long term," he said.