US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to regulate investment in China in three sensitive high-tech sectors, including semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The US Treasury Department said on Wednesday that Biden had authorized the Treasury Secretary to regulate certain investments into "countries of concern."

The department says the three sectors are semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and AI. It says Biden identified China as a country of concern.

The program will complement the existing US controls on exports of advanced semiconductors and other items to China.

The program will prohibit certain investments related to technologies and products that "pose the most acute national security risks," and will require notification for other sensitive investments.

The Biden administration stresses that it will tighten restrictions on exports to China of some advanced technologies that could be diverted for military use, while continuing economic activities in other areas.

Beginning August 1, China imposed export restrictions on items related to gallium and germanium -- rare metals used in materials for semiconductors.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China last month and confirmed the two countries would continue to engage in dialogue. But China is expected to react sharply to the newly announced US program.