Investment in US hits record level for Chinese (3)

Opposition remains

But despite support on many fronts, opposition toward Chinese FDI in the US also made frequent headlines in 2012, which Rhodium's Hanemann described as little more than "political games and populist rhetoric" that made "little progress".

The most public case came in early October, when a report released by two members of the US House Intelligence Committee accused operations being run by Huawei and ZTE, the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers, as representing a possible national security threat.

In September, President Barack Obama had ordered Chinese-controlled Ralls Corporation to cancel a wind farm project near a military base in Oregon, only the second time a US president has formally blocked a foreign acquisition and the first time since 1990. The move triggered a strong protest from the Chinese side, including a lawsuit against Obama being pursued by the Chinese investor.

Wanxiang's bid for A123 Systems and BGI Shenzhen's $118 million bid for Complete Genomics, a bio-tech firm based in California, also attracted opposition from US politicians.

Orville Schell, director of the Center on US-China Relations at Asia Society, said earlier this month that the US government itself is not treating Chinese companies in an unfair or discriminatory way, but US congressional figures very often do have a prejudice against them and create political problems that can make it difficult for Chinese firms to feel welcome.

Hanemann added that he believes such politicization is damaging the perception of the US as an investment destination for China, despite a general welcoming by US business and the hard work done by some of its governors, mayors and other officials in promoting inward investment.

He added that if the US wants to maximize its benefits from China's expected outward FDI boom in years to come, policymakers need to stop beating their drums and instead focus on solutions that allow the US to maintain an open investment environment, while addressing their genuine concerns. Otherwise, Chinese investors will take their cash elsewhere.

Hanemann pointed to the example of Europe, where Chinese FDI has topped $10 billion for the second year in a row, well ahead of what the US received over the past two years.

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