US seeks to ease Chinese fears of ‘expansion barriers’

A few high-profile cases involving Chinese companies hitting roadblocks for "groundless" reasons during their overseas expansion have laid bare investment barriers put up in some developed economies, a State policy bank governor said Thursday at the Summer Davos Forum held in Dalian, urging efforts to create a more favorable environment for investors from developing countries.

"Take the Sany Group case for instance, the US investment environment is perceived (by some) as terrible … it is unknown why the US government has made such a silly decision," said Li Ruogu, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of China.

Sany, a leading Chinese construction equipment maker, announced in 2012 it had filed a lawsuit against US President Barack Obama after its wind farm project in Oregon was blocked over national security concerns.

In response to such worries, US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco J. Sánchez said that the US has the most open investment environment in the world, and in a few cases they look at things they know people will disagree with.

Sánchez stressed that for the last several years, investment from China has been growing at a rate of about 70 percent a year. "It's the fastest growing foreign direct investment in the US."

While a few blips may frustrate some Chinese investors, most companies' enthusiasm for overseas expansion remains unfazed, Sánchez said.

"With the new leadership pledging deepened reforms, China will be on track to gain greater confidence worldwide, helping domestic companies win more recognition in their overseas expansion," Lin Yu, CEO of the Beijing-based mobile security service provider NQ Mobile Inc, told the Global Times.

NQ Mobile has seen its presence expand across many markets including the US. Overseas businesses have contributed to roughly half of the company's revenues, according to Lin.

Premier Li Keqiang said China is expected to invest $500 billion overseas in the next five years, as part of a broad set of efforts aimed at ushering in a new phase of the Chinese economic miracle featuring better quality and higher efficiency.

Premier Li's strong focus on the fact that economies around the world are globalizing is noteworthy, Uschi Schreiber, global government and public sector leader for Ernst & Young Global Limited, told the Global Times, speaking of the significance of the country's ability "to compete in that environment for internal as well as external benefits."