Chinese Mandarin - US deputy secretary of treasury seeks more Chinese investment

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BIZCHINA / Center

US deputy secretary of treasury seeks more Chinese investment

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-06-20 10:50

US Deputy Secretary of Treasury Robert Kimmitt (right) and Haier
Vice-President Zhou Yunjie (left) browse a Home Depot store in Beijing
yesterday. Kimmitt is on a tour of China to reassure investors that the
US remains open to foreign investments. [newsphoto]

US Deputy Secretary of Treasury Robert Kimmitt pledged on Tuesday US
commitment to maintaining an open economy and said the country welcomed
foreign investment.

"We welcome investment from all around the world. We would like the
Chinese to consider investment opportunities in the US," said Kimmitt at
a press briefing.

"I'm emphasizing the US commitment to maintaining an open economy as
demonstrated by President Bush's May 10 statement on the benefits
offoreign direct investment(FDI) for the US economy," Kimmitt said.

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He said in the United States, economic activity generated by FDI accounts
for more than 4 percent of the country's workforce, roughly 5.1 million
Americans, but provides 10 percent of capital investment, 13 percent of
annual research and development spending and nearly 20 percent of United
States exports.

"We think it's important to continue to talk about investment in the
strategic economic dialogue (between US and China) and work together to
ensure that as the US and China continue to lower barriers to investment,
so do the rest of the world," said Kimmitt.

He said the United States welcomes investment from both private companies
and State-owned or State-controlled companies, though he said there are
issues attached to investments by State-owned or state-controlled
companies that do not apply in fully private transactions.

Kimmitt met with some Chinese government officials, including Zhou
Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and
Lou Jiwei, who is heading the group preparing the state foreign exchange
investment company.

When meeting with Lou, they laid out some of the processes that will
apply to investments in the US, particularly regarding FDI.

Kimmitt will continue to meet with a number of Chinese government
agencies as well as private US and Chinese companies before going to
Russia.

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