Investment in US to create jobs

Eugene Qian, managing director and head of corporate and investment banking at Citigroup Inc China, said that a growing number of Chinese firms are realizing that green field investment in particular - in which a company begins a new venture in another country with the construction of new facilities as well as creating new jobs - can help them avoid potential trade barriers, get immediate access to local customers, and deliver higher profit margins than operating locally.

While certain foreign investment deals in industries deemed as "sensitive" are often politicized and ultimately blocked, those in the American business community say they believe that regulatory issues should not bar investment from China.

Shao added that typically less than 10 percent of Chinese transactions went through any formal national security review process by the US Treasury-led Committee on Foreign Investment, and even the vast majority of those which do, are approved.

US delegates at Friday's event agreed that the current setbacks being encountered by telecom companies Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp are likely to be temporary, as long as the US government stops sending contradictory signals that might deter Chinese investors in the long run.

To avoid further conflict with investors such as Huawei, Shao suggested a bilateral investment protection pact should be sought by the two parties.

Robert Theleen, chairman of AmCham Shanghai and CEO of private equity firm ChinaVest Ltd, said the two cases were complicated, simply because of the sensitivity of the industry.

"It's safe to say that technology has overtaken the ability of political leaders, and so they have tended to make conservative decisions," he said.

But he added that such conflicts do not reflect the current robust business investment environment in the US, where many Chinese enterprises thrive and enjoy overall success.