U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Monday to crack down on trade with China, and trade representative Robert Lighthizer said his office will launch a probe and take action if necessary.
The probe will look into China's alleged violation of global rules in technology policies in intellectual property.
Analysts say Chinese tech companies based in the U.S., and those in constant business contacts with U.S. tech companies, are most likely to take a direct hit or even face investigation.
However, China's exports of heavy machinery, garments and toys — which are in the largest export volume to the U.S. — might be the worst bruised.
That's because the U.S. is now eager to protect its domestic manufacturing, a sector that increasingly overlaps with Chinese businesses.
Trade bans or tariff hikes on Chinese exports used to serve the best of U.S.'s interests, when Chinese products mainly went to low-end markets while the U.S. was taking up the mid-high end.
But now Chinese exports are getting into high-end markets after years of upgrade and the U.S. is feeling the heat.
This latest trade friction also follows the U.S. lifting preliminary duties on China's aluminum imports up to 81 percent.
China's foreign trade has grown steadily in the first half of 2017. Its trade value climbed to 15.5 trillion yuan, up 18.5 year on year.
Exports to U.S. also grew 18 percent in the same period, the highest among China's major trading partners, followed by European Union's 16 percent and Japan's 12 percent.
"China actually needs to import more products from the U.S. now, and the U.S. should export more high-tech products to China as that's an advantage from the U.S.'s side. Section 301 will cause more trade friction and hurt both," said Zhang Jianping, Director General of Center for Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce.
