Sany says will 'fight to end' in Obama lawsuit

Xiang Wenbo speaks at a media briefing held by Sany in Beijing Saturday. Photo: Yang Jing/GT

Sany Group will fight "to the end" in a lawsuit against US President Barack Obama and Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) for banning its wind farm project transaction in the US, board director of Sany Group, said at a media briefing in Beijing over the weekend.

"If the Obama administration gives up on appealing, Sany will have a final victory," Xiang Wenbo, the board director, said at the media briefing Saturday.

There is also the possibility of an out-of-court settlement, and that the company has not made a final decision on whether to continue the project or transfer it, he noted.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Tuesday that the Obama administration had violated the rights of Ralls Corp, Sany Group's affiliate firm in the US, when it reviewed the company's acquisition of wind farms projects near a Navy site in the state of Oregon under national security concerns.

From the moment that the federal appeal court made the ruling, President Obama's ban on the project became invalid, which means Sany has won a complete victory, Xia Tingkang, the lawyer of Sany, said at the media briefing.

The federal appeal court left the case to the US District Court for the District of Columbia to address Ralls' remaining claims but its ruling has stated clearly that foreign investors' property rights are protected by the US constitution, according to Xia.

Ralls Corp sued US President Obama and the CFIUS in the US District Court for the District of Columbia in October 2012.

The district court dismissed in October 2013 most of Ralls' claims. Ralls then took the case to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the same month.

"In the past, the CFIUS can damage foreign investors' rights and remain free from responsibility with a president's order," Xia said. He noted that Sany is the first foreign investor to have challenged the CFIUS and the US president's decision, and the latest ruling is a breakthrough.

Sany was forced to file the lawsuit because it cannot develop in the US market under the accusation of "endangering US national security," according to Xiang.

"We believe that the US national security review regime is vague in concept and opaque in procedures… which damages Chinese investors' confidence in the US market," Chinese Assistant Commerce Minister Zhang Xiangchen was reported as saying in early July at a press briefing by Xinhua News Agency.

Sany's victory will push the CFIUS to reform and become more transparent in making decisions and protecting other foreign investors' interests in the US market, Xiang believed.

Hao Junbo, a Beijing-based lawyer with expertise in international lawsuits, said at the briefing that the victory of Sany would give hope to all foreign investors which have been forced to give up projects in the US market, as the ruling can be a reference for similar lawsuits.