US and Chinese local govts boost investment

Infrastructure and energy

According to the Ministry of Commerce, during the first three months, the US outperformed all the others, with China's outflow of investment in the nation gaining as much as 104 percent year-on-year, while China's ODI surged by 44 percent to $23.8 billion during the same period.

After meeting a series of Chinese leaders during his brief visit to Beijing in April, US Secretary of State John Kerry called for more Chinese investment in the US.

"One of the things we discussed was the possibility of China investing in infrastructure in the US, since the US has huge infrastructure needs, like water and transportation projects," Kerry told reporters before leaving for Tokyo.

Reports said a major part of Brown's China visit was to explore the possibility of cooperation with China to build high-speed railways in California valued at $68 billion. Brown's team met representatives from Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co and China Railway Corp.

During the signing ceremony of the understanding between California and six Chinese provinces, Wang Chao, vice-minister of commerce, said China will encourage the business exchanges between China's local governments and the US states.

"China will especially promote the Chinese outbound investment in sectors of new energy and infrastructure," he said.

As China is committed to transforming its economic growth model and building up the new version of economy, turning it greener, new energy will be a new hotspot for bilateral cooperation, Chinese local government officials said.

Hebei Governor Zhang Qingwei said the province is seeking cooperation with the US state of Wisconsin, well known for its water conservation, as it is struggling to meet requirements to reduce water use and coal burning this year.

"We are expected to cut water use by one-third this year, as well as transfer alternative energy from traditional coal burning," he said.

"Both obligations contradict the fact that energy demand will soar in the coming years in Hebei due to economic development, and we have to try to work out a solution."

Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo said haze and water pollution are the two major challenges facing the city. He said his government is willing to seek cooperation on environmental protection with the states of Wisconsin and Virginia.