It’s an opportune time for cashed-up Chinese to put money into the

It’s an opportune time for cashed-up Chinese to put money into the United States, owing to a favorable investment environment and lower asset prices amid the weak US economic recovery, officials said.

“The US market is well developed with a sound legal system and there are a lot of sectors worth our investment, which will benefit both countries,” said Tian Deyou, deputy director-general of the department of American and Oceanian affairs at the Ministry of Commerce.

Tian made the comment during a seminar on Chinese Enterprises’ Investment in the US, which was sponsored by the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies.

Paul Lam, president of the US China Global Investment and Trade Alliance, said that now is the “best time” for Chinese investors to enter the US.

William Zarit, minister counselor for commercial affairs at the US embassy in Beijing, said that the US is “very welcoming” to direct investment from China and other countries, which provides new capital for economic growth and infrastructure construction and job creation.

China’s cumulative direct investment in the US stood at about $20 billion at the end of May, with the money having come from about 1,000 Chinese enterprises. That compared with $700 million in 2005, according to Zarit.

Chinese investment in the US in the first half jumped 290 percent from a year earlier, compared with 29-percent growth in China’s overall outbound direct investment, according to the ministry.

China and the US agreed in July that they would soon start substantive negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, which will reduce investment barriers and facilitate market access in the two economies.

Despite the promising prospects, Tian noted that Chinese investors still face some difficulties in the US, the biggest being such cultural differences as language and region.

He also urged Chinese enterprises in the US to contribute more to local communities as fast-growing Chinese investment has aroused concerns.

Source www.chinadaily.com