第008期
精彩语录
▶▶ 中国投资已全面进驻美国各大产业，对此，美国政府、企业以及公民应宽容接受。
▶▶ 越来越多美国人关注更为细节的问题：中国公司来了，家里食用的牛肉是否安全？
▶▶ 从美国角度来看，不论中国在美投资带来何种挑战，获得切实的资金总比把钱扔向别处现实得多。
专家介绍
Joel Backaler
福布斯专栏作家，曾在清华大学IUP中心进修中文，致力于打造西方和中国商业交流之间的桥梁。
网易教育讯 据美国侨报网编译报道，4月29日，美国商会（UnitedStates Chamber of Commerce）宣布，中国在美投资金额首次超过美国在华投资。中国在美投资暴涨引起美国国内的热议和质疑。《外交政策》（ForeignPolicy）6日刊文告诫称，在美中国公司在增加就业机会的同时，也必须遵循美国的“游戏规则”进行商业运作。
中国人往美国不断砸钱：美国人担心
过去10年，从能源产业到食品加工再到好莱坞电影，中国投资已全面进驻美国各大产业，影响力与日俱增。美国人担心，中国会“买下”全世界。事实上，美国政府、企业以及公民应该用另一种方式看待目前的形势：宽容接受。
需要注意的是，中国在美投资在过去10年间发展态势良好。未来几十年，中国在美投资还将持续增加，谱写出数百亿美元的旋律。纽约咨询公司荣鼎集团 （RhodiumGroup）数据显示，2005年至2013年间，中国在美投资金额从20亿美元迅速增长到140亿美元，增幅达到600%。
不必担心：中国公司其实“拯救”了美国
随着中国在美投资不断增加，越来越多的美国人开始关注更为细节的问题。谁将共享美国人智能手机的相关信息？家里食用的牛肉是否安全？中国公司会不会对美国员工实行不公平的劳动标准？事实上，研究证明，美国不但完全有能力控制这些风险，也有能力利用目前的形势。
首先，中国公司带来了大把现金。
2013年，中国对全球投资达到850亿美元，140亿投向美国。中国在美投资积极面的力证就是位于密歇根州的耐世特汽车 转向器公司（Nexteer）。在全球经济危机期间，该公司首席执行官罗伯特•雷梅纳尔（RobertRemenar）寻求中国投资者，挽救了摇摇欲坠的公司。
2010年，中国国企中航汽车公司（AVICAutomotive）以4.65亿美元的价格买下了耐世特汽车公司。获得了中方投资后，雷梅纳尔保留了自己 的管理团队以及决策核心人员，短短几年即恢复元气。2013年12月，耐世特全球首席运营官洛朗•布列松（LaurentBresson）表示，公司正处 于快速增长期。
其次，中国在美投资也提供了大量就业机会，为联邦政府与州政府带来数量可观的税款。
2000年11月，丹麦航运巨头马士基航运公司（MaerskLine）计划结束其在波士顿港的服务，危及当地10000个工作岗位。
2002 年3月，波士顿港务局长麦克•里昂（MikeLeone）成功与中国远洋运输集团（ChinaOcean Shipping）达成协议，中国远洋集团将在波士顿港开设直接服务点。该项投资不但挽救了当地10000个工作岗位，还为波士顿港的集装箱装卸设备进行 价值2.5亿美元的扩建。
第三页：《外交政策》英文原文： The Chinese Are Coming, and It's Going to Be Fine
第008期
精彩语录
▶▶ 中国投资已全面进驻美国各大产业，对此，美国政府、企业以及公民应宽容接受。
▶▶ 越来越多美国人关注更为细节的问题：中国公司来了，家里食用的牛肉是否安全？
▶▶ 从美国角度来看，不论中国在美投资带来何种挑战，获得切实的资金总比把钱扔向别处现实得多。
专家介绍
Joel Backaler
福布斯专栏作家，曾在清华大学IUP中心进修中文，致力于打造西方和中国商业交流之间的桥梁。
不必担心：中国公司赴美要玩“美国规则”
首先，美国有监管公司，影响国家安全的交易完成不了。
当然，很多美国人有理由担心中国投资危及国土安全，并带来更为激烈的竞争，但美国现行的监管流程完全可以解决中国投资带来的风险。美国海外投资跨机构委员 会（inter-agencyCommittee on Foreign Investment）是专门对海外投资美国企业进行评估的机构。该机构可以审查交易流程，确定交易将产生的国家层面的影响，并限制或阻止影响国家安全的交易。
其次，中国公司跟美国本土公司一个标准，别担心中国公司产的牛肉不安全。
值得注意的是，美国国内存在一种广泛的误解，即获得中国投资的公司与美国本土公司对待员工的标准不同。事实上，不论是食品安全、劳动标准、还是公司会计报告，美国境内的中国公司与美国本土公司采用的是同一套法律法规流程，没有例外。
别给钱不要：管制太严 美国将错失大好机会
中国在美投资也算是双向选择。中国公司在极度渴望入驻美国的同时，也会严格审核交易获益的可能性。如果中国公司遭遇政治动机明显的管制程序，那么美国将会错失大好机会。鉴于此，美国媒体以及政客不应过度渲染少数失败的中国投资项目。
中国公司已成功入驻美国，目前的趋势将会持续下去。这些跨国企业将会重塑全球商业的蓝图，而它们的投资也带来实实在在的利益。保证中国潜在投资者知晓美国相关法规，控制任何威胁国家安全的商业行为，可以使美国获得最大化的利益。
从美国角度来看，不论中国在美投资带来何种挑战，获得切实的资金总比把钱扔向别处现实得多。
第三页：《外交政策》英文原文： The Chinese Are Coming, and It's Going to Be Fine
第008期
精彩语录
▶▶ 中国投资已全面进驻美国各大产业，对此，美国政府、企业以及公民应宽容接受。
▶▶ 越来越多美国人关注更为细节的问题：中国公司来了，家里食用的牛肉是否安全？
▶▶ 从美国角度来看，不论中国在美投资带来何种挑战，获得切实的资金总比把钱扔向别处现实得多。
专家介绍
Joel Backaler
福布斯专栏作家，曾在清华大学IUP中心进修中文，致力于打造西方和中国商业交流之间的桥梁。
The Chinese Are Coming, and It's Going to Be Fine
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On April 29, the United States Chamber of Commerce, a U.S. lobbying group, announced that Chinese investment in the United States surpassed U.S. investment in China for the first time. The news has been a long time in coming: Over the past decade, Chinese companies have made major inroads in the U.S. market -- from the energy sector to food production to Hollywood -- and it's clear their influence is growing. Americans worry that China is buying up the world. But there's another, better way for U.S. authorities, businesses, and citizens to approach the influx: Embrace it.
The story of Chinese investment in the United States, which will continue to play out to the tune of billions of dollars over the coming decades, is already well over a decade old. According to New York-based advisory firm Rhodium Group, Chinese investment in the U.S. increased by 600 percent from 2005 ($2 billion) to 2013 ($14 billion). Chinese firms first caught widespread U.S. attention in 2005 with one stunning success and one abject disaster. On the positive side of the ledger, Lenovo, a personal computer and consumer electronics firm, successfully bought U.S.-based tech firm IBM's ThinkPad laptop brand in 2005 for $1.25 billion. The fact that a Chinese firm hoped to buy a piece of a premier U.S. corporation led to a group of three Republican committee chairmen, led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, to call for further scrutiny of the deal. But the transaction still went through relatively smoothly; it made practical business sense for IBM to sell off itspersonal computing division, and Lenovo was the best suitor.
By contrast, that same year, a highly politicized $18.5 billion proposed acquisition of California energy firm Unocal by state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) made U.S. headlines, but scrutiny from politicians and the media killed the deal and forced CNOOC to eventually withdraw its bid. Duncan Hunter was again at the forefront, claiming that the deal posed a significant threat to U.S. national security, despite a fairly strong business argument why it made sense.
Increased corporate investment from China naturally leads to a number of legitimate questions and concerns. Who will be able to access the information Americans share on their smartphones? Will the pork they serve their families still be safe? Will Chinese firms impose unfair labor practices on U.S. workers? After studying Chinese firms for a decade, I am convinced that not only is the United States capable of handling these risks, but it is also in a position to capitalize on the phenomenon.
First, Chinese firms bring a great deal of cash to the table. Chinese global outward investment reached $85 billion in 2013, $14 billion of which ended up in the United States. A potent example illustrating the positive side of Chinese investment can be found in Michigan-based automotive steering firm Nexteer. During the global financial crisis, Nexteer CEO Robert Remenar targeted Chinese investors for his faltering firm. In 2010, he found a new owner in Chinese company AVIC Automotive, a state-owned firm, which bought Nexteer for $465 million. Under the new ownership, Nexteer's CEO retained his entire management team and his decision-making authority, and was able to revitalize the company in a few short years. In December 2013, Nexteer's president and global chief operating officer, Laurent Bresson, told local media that the firm was in "extremely rapid growth mode." In the two years following the deal, Nexteer invested more than $220 million in its Saginaw, Michigan operations, where the firm remains headquartered today.
In addition to pumping capital into cash-strapped U.S. firms, Chinese companies can also fuel job growth and add valuable tax dollars at the state and federal levels. In November 2000, Danish shipping giant Maersk Line ended its service to the Port of Boston, jeopardizing 10,000 local jobs. By April 2001, port director Mike Leone traveled to Beijing to meet with the management team of the China Ocean Shipping (COSCO). His negotiations proved successful in March 2002 when COSCO filled the void left by Maersk and opened direct service from China to Boston, not only saving those 10,000 jobs, but also creating additional ones through a $250 million investment into an expanded container handling facility.
Chinese auto parts firm Wanxiang America has also saved thousands of jobs for the U.S. economy. By January 2013, the firm saved more than3,000 U.S. positions through multiple acquisitions of foundering U.S. companies. Headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, Wanxiang America has become a $2.5 billion corporation since its founder, Pin Ni, started the U.S. subsidiary out of his home in 1994.
Of course, many in the United States are rightfully worried about the threat Chinese investment could pose to domestic security and competitiveness. In October 2012, an extensive U.S. House Intelligence Committee investigation into Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei and ZTE found that "the risks associated with Huawei's and ZTE's provision of equipment to U.S. critical infrastructure could undermine core U.S. national-security interests." The Chinese wind turbine producer Sinovel divested its U.S. operations in July 2013 after it was charged in U.S. federal court with stealing trade secrets from its former U.S. supplier.
But the vast majority of concerns about the risks Chinese investment poses to the United States can be addressed under current regulatory processes. In particular, the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) exists to "to review transactions that could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person...in order to determine the effect of such transactions" on national security. And it can block or limit the scope of transactions to the extent necessary to protect that security. The most recent CFIUS report to Congress, released in December 2013, found that the United Kingdom accounted for the most reviewed deals (21 percent of the total), while deals originating from China, increasing in frequency, accounted for 12 percent of reviewed deals over the same time period.
There's also a widespread misconception that Chinese companies aren't held to the same standards as U.S. firms. But whether it's food safety, fair labor standards, or corporate accounting and reporting, Chinese companies operating stateside are bound by the same laws and regulations as their industry peers -- with no exceptions. These firms, which operate as U.S. subsidiaries of Chinese parent companies, receive the same treatment as any U.S. firm. For example, the May 2013announcement that a Chinese firm was acquiring Smithfield Foods, a U.S. pork producer, led to immediate public outcry about food safety. After an extended CFIUS review process, the deal ultimately went through because the committee reached the conclusion that the acquirer, Chinese-owned Shuanghui International, posed no threat to U.S. consumers compared to any other U.S. food products firm.
The ongoing politicization of deals like Shuanghui-Smithfield and CNOOC-Unocal frustrates Chinese officials and business people alike. In July 2013, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, was quoted in his country's state media lamenting the "political obstacles" confronted by Chinese investors in the United States and urged "pragmatic efforts to eliminate these obstacles as soon as possible."
Contrary to populist rhetoric, the internationalization of Chinese firms is not part of a grand scheme for the Chinese government to infiltrate U.S. society. To be sure, there are indirect benefits for China itself, including an ability to diversify investments overseas, gain access to natural resources to fuel the Chinese economy, and increase its soft power in the world's richest and most powerful country. Nonetheless, the primary motivations of Chinese companies remain commercial. The Chinese market is intensely competitive; firms need access to new markets, brands, technology, and managerial talent. Expansion into advanced economies like that of the United States allows Chinese companies to hasten the evolution of their businesses.
This is also a two-way street. While Chinese companies are eager to bring their investment dollars to the United States, they will only do so if they are confident of smooth, successful deals. If these firms are met with unclear, inconsistently applied, or politically motivated regulatory procedures, the United States will miss out on a tremendous opportunity. For this to work, U.S. media and politicians should stop politicizing the small number of deals gone wrong. It simply perpetuates the myth, mainstream in China, that their investment is not particularly welcome in the United States. This ignores what the data actually reveals, which is that the vast majority of attempted Chinese investments are successfully completed without government interference. If the negative rhetoric continues, Chinese firms, pockets bulging with cash to spend, will simply take their business elsewhere.
There's one last reason not to spend too much time wringing one's hands over this new trend: The vast majority of Chinese firms still cannot compete against U.S. firms on the latter's home turf. In particular, their Chinese management teams lack significant international business experience, especially in advanced economies like the United States, which feature complex regulatory environments. To wit: Chinese athletic apparel firm Li-Ning failed miserably during its first foray in the United States in 2010. For starters, its products did not meet the needs of U.S. consumers. Li-Ning's flagship store in Portland, Oregon sold unpopular items including badminton rackets, kung fu apparel, and table tennis supplies. The firm's mismanagement of its U.S. leadership team even resulted in one of its U.S.-based executives to successfully sue Li-Ningfor $1.25 million for calling him derogatory words and reneging on a promised promotion. U.S. companies and executives should try to understand the implications of this trend for their business and identify potential Chinese players emerging in their industry to ensure future competitiveness.
Chinese companies are already operating in the United States, and this phenomenon will only continue to grow in the coming years. These transnational firms will irrevocably reshape the global business landscape, and their investments will bring tangible benefits. Ensuring there are clear rules in place that are fully understood by potential Chinese investors will ensure the United States can maximize beneficial investment while discouraging any that pose a national security or anti-competitive threat. From a U.S. perspective, whatever challenges Chinese firms may present, it is far better to have them emptying their wallets stateside than sending those billions of dollars somewhere else.
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