President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Getty)
The memorandum, dubbed the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM), specifically singles out China for "exploiting our capital and ingenuity to fund and modernize their military, intelligence, and security operations, posing direct threats to United States security with weapons of mass destruction, cyber warfare, and more," according to the White House release.
"Chinese hackers have repeatedly targeted U.S. entities, including recently breaching the Treasury Department’s CFIUS office, the entity responsible for reviewing foreign investments for national security risks," the release adds.
While Trump has in the past imposed tariffs on China, Ward argued that the president’s new policy is a further step in aggressively responding to the threat posed by China.
"This is very different from tariffs. It's different from trade concerns. Foreign investment is an issue that potentially impacts national security," Ward said.
Ward noted the example of the social media application TikTok, which has famously been at the center of a debate about protecting Americans from potentially being targeted by China.
Xi Jinping arrives for dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris on May 6, 2024. (Daniel Dorko/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images))
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Nevertheless, Ward believes Trump’s memorandum signals that the president is more committed than ever to combating Chinese threats to U.S. security.
"The biggest thing about this policy is that President Trump is not afraid to say that really the threat here is China," Ward said. "Everybody that sort of works in this space knows that, but it was the elephant in the room, right? People sort of weren't willing to speak about it publicly. And President Trump has really come out and said through this policy, yeah, China's the concern."
Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-latest-moves-signals-most-hawkish-approach-china-yet-expert