The US administration is set to intensify its efforts to curb China’s technological influence with a series of new measures targeting both the automotive and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, reported Bloomberg.

These latest actions aim to strengthen US technological leadership and address growing national security concerns related to Chinese and Russian technologies.

A key component of this crackdown is a new rule that bans the import and sale of personal smart cars with links to China or Russia.

The new automobile policy, which has been in development for about a year, prohibits the import or sale of connected vehicles and components with significant connections to China or Russia.

This policy aims to protect consumer privacy and national security by preventing potential data collection and remote manipulation by foreign adversaries, according to the news agency.

US officials are also set to explore expanding these restrictions to include commercial vehicles, such as buses and trucks, the report said.

The executive order on AI facilitates leasing federal land to companies for building AI data centres, provided they commit to constructing these facilities.

This initiative is part of a broader strategy to curb the sale of AI chips to global data centres, affecting companies like Nvidia.

The US president Joe Biden stressed the importance of maintaining the US’s competitive edge in AI development.

He added that the executive order will expedite the creation of AI infrastructure in the US, with a focus on economic competitiveness, national security, AI safety, and clean energy.

Additionally, the US officials are considering new tariffs on Chinese semiconductors and are working to finalise a cybersecurity executive order, partly in response to a significant hack attributed to China.

The US National Economic Council deputy director Navtej Dhillon was quoted by the news agency as saying: “We’ve had a strong focus on investing in critical technologies and the domestic sectors that are important for national security and economic competitiveness.”