"The CEO of CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corp) once told me he would never invest in the US again, after the trial of acquiring oil company Unocal Corp. But just four years later, the company became the largest and the most welcomed investor in the energy sector in the US," he said.
It is a widespread "myth" that the US, more often than not, does not welcome Chinese investment, said Mark Lewis, commercial officer at the US Embassy in Beijing.
The federal government, and the US Department of Commerce in particular, spends a lot of manpower and effort trying to attract foreign direct investment, Lewis said.
Washington has been pushing ahead SelectUSA, a government initiative to remove barriers to new investments. During a project roadshow in Shanghai last October, US Ambassador to China Gary Locke said that through such events, Chinese companies can learn about investment opportunities in the US through workshops and visits.
But Rosen said US leaders need to tread carefully so that they don't cause problems.
"We have seen 600 successful investments so far from China. So you don't really need a lot of government encouragement as this is starting to happen very well," Rosen said.
Policymakers should avoid misunderstanding what the real trends are, Rosen noted. Washington should not think that all investments are Chinese-government related, and Beijing should not deem that the US market is closed.
"The government can make problems. But they can really be the solution," he said.
hewei@chinadaily.com.cn
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