WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday issued an order blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining company from owning land near a nuclear missile base in Wyoming, saying the proximity to the base is a He claimed that it was a security risk.
The order forces the sale of assets operated as cryptocurrency mining facilities near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. MineOne Partners Ltd., a partly Chinese-backed company, and its affiliates have also been asked to remove certain equipment from the site.
This comes as the US does Major new tariffs set to go into effect on Tuesday upon Electric carSemiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies are being imported from China, according to U.S. officials and another person familiar with the project.
And as the election season gets into full swing, former President Donald Trump, who is seen as Biden's opponent in the Republican Party, is facing a new geopolitical rival, China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States. He told voters that he would take a tough stance on the issue.
Monday's sale order was made in coordination with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States — a little-known fact. powerful government committee It is tasked with investigating corporate transactions with the power to force companies to change their ownership structures or leave the United States altogether, citing national security concerns.
A 2018 law gave CFIUS the authority to review real estate transactions near sensitive locations across the United States, including F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
MineOne purchased land within a mile of Cheyenne Air Force Base in 2022, but the purchase was not reported to the commission as required until the commission received public information, according to CFIUS.
The order is vague about specific national security concerns, with the Treasury Department warning that foreign procurement “poses a significant national security risk” and “has special requirements for foreign procurement that could potentially facilitate surveillance or espionage.” He only said that there was a problem with the “equipment.”
Representatives for the company did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, who chairs CFIUS, said the committee's role is to ensure that “foreign investments, especially those related to sensitive U.S. military facilities or transactions that pose risks to U.S. military facilities, protect our national security. “We must ensure that we do not damage it,” he said. Items that involve special equipment or technology. ”
The commission, which includes members from the Departments of State, Justice, Energy, and Commerce, examines national security risks posed by foreign investments in U.S. companies.
CFIUS ordered the property to be sold within 120 days and all structures and equipment on the premises to be removed within 90 days.
