NEW YORK -- US President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would block and regulate high-tech US-based investments going toward China though Washington said repeatedly that they have no interest in "decoupling" from China.

Biden's executive order will designate China as a "country of concern," and it will limit American investments in three categories of national security technologies: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and certain artificial intelligence systems, according to the US Treasury Department.

The rules are expected to go into effect following a 45-day comment period.