WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday banning Americans from investing in 59 Chinese firms believed to be linked to China"s military, expanding an earlier Trump administration order. The original order, signed by former US President Donald Trump in November, applied to 31 Chinese companies that the administration said "enable the development and modernization" of China"s military and "directly threaten" US security. Biden"s order expanded the scope of the ban to include 59 companies, citing the threat of Chinese surveillance technology. The order goes into effect on Aug. 2. Many of the country"s biggest telecommunications companies, including China Mobile, China Telecommunications and China Unicom, remain on the blacklist. Smartphone maker Huawei and Hikvision, a major manufacturer and supplier of video surveillance equipment, also remain on the list. The move is aimed at ensuring "US persons are not financing the military-industrial complex of the People"s Republic of China," one White House official said. "The prohibitions are intentionally targeted and scoped to maximize the impact on the targets while minimizing harm to global markets," the official added. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin suggested China would retaliate against the latest measures, according to a BBC report. "China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and resolutely support Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their rights and interests in accordance with the law," he was quoted as saying. — Agencies