President Donald Trump issued an order instructing Hong Kong-based Suirui International Co., Limited, to divest itself of all interests in Delaware-based Jupiter Systems, LLC, because of national security risks, the Department of the Treasury said in a July 11 statement.
Suirui International is a majority-owned subsidiary of Suirui Group Co., Ltd., a company organized under the laws of China, the order said. Suirui International had acquired all interests in Jupiter via a transaction in February 2020. The acquisition included two subsidiaries of Jupiter, one in Hong Kong and another in China.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that reviews certain transactions involving foreign investments, looked at the deal and identified a national security risk arising from Suirui’s ownership of Jupiter “relating to the potential compromise of Jupiter’s products used in military and critical infrastructure environments,” according to the Treasury.
“To address this risk, the President’s order directs Suirui to divest all interests and rights in Jupiter,” it said.
The order also requires that “Jupiter hold no interest or rights in any assets or operations of its Chinese subsidiaries acquired or created after the completion of the transaction.”
According to Jupiter, the company offers collaborative visualization processors and software enabling “mission-critical, 24/7 informed decision-making.” It supplies products to diverse sectors including military, government, space, police, banking, and health care.
In a July 12 statement, Jupiter said it was aware of the federal order prohibiting the 2020 acquisition by Suirui and was “actively reviewing the decision in consultation with legal counsel and ... stakeholders.”
The company clarified that it does not anticipate any disruptions to business or customer service while the issue is adjudicated.
“We are focused on developing and manufacturing cutting-edge display wall and control room technologies to mission-critical environments,“ Jupiter said. ”Our commitment to innovation, national security, and compliance with U.S. laws and regulations has always been unwavering as a U.S.-based company.”
CFIUS’s decision follows a Feb. 21 memorandum signed by Trump seeking to tackle national security threats related to Chinese investments in the United States.
CFIUS will be used to restrict Chinese investments in sectors such as critical infrastructure, technology, raw materials, energy, health care, and agriculture, according to a Feb. 21 White House fact sheet.
“The United States will establish new rules to curb the exploitation of its capital, technology, and knowledge by foreign adversaries such as China to ensure that only those investments that serve American interests are allowed,” it said.
The order also aims to protect U.S. farmland and real estate acquisition near sensitive facilities. Foreign entities and individuals held about 43 million acres of U.S. agricultural land at the time, accounting for 2 percent of all land in the United States, the fact sheet said, adding that China alone owns more than 350,000 acres of farmland in 27 states.
On July 8, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the United States will seek to ban Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland for security reasons.
“Land owned by foreign nationals—particularly those from countries of concern ... or other foreign adversaries—is a potential threat to national security and future economic prosperity,” said the national security action plan released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), obtained by The Epoch Times.
“USDA will ensure transparency of foreign U.S. agricultural land ownership and pursue robust and overdue updates to data collection, reporting, and analysis.”
Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
Naveen Athrappully
Author
Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter covering business and world events at The Epoch Times.
