China's senior bankers have urged the US government to create a
sound environment for Chinese investors to deepen economic
ties.
Government officials and senior banking executives were
attending a Sino-US symposium on building new financial system in
Tianjin at the weekend.
Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Construction Bank
Corporation, described the imbalance of mutual foreign direct
investment (FDI) as a major economic challenge faced by the two
countries, whose ties increasingly affect the global economy.
To forge a "mature" economic relationship, the US needs to
re-evaluate trade disputes, Guo and other bankers including Wu
Xiaoling, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said.
"US investors can enjoy better treatment than citizens in China,
but in the US, Chinese investors sometimes cannot enjoy
national-standard treatment," Guo said.
He pointed out that the different investment policies have
resulted in a mutual investment imbalance.
Statistics indicate that US investors have plunged about US$60
billion into China, while China has little investment in the
US.
"The unfavorable trade measures are not only harmful to Chinese
companies but also US investors in the long run as all economies
closely interact with each other, especially those of China and the
US," Guo warned.
In response, US Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt said the Bush
administration is open to foreign investment and emphasized that a
sound Sino-US relationship is in the interests of the US.
"The Bush administration welcomes FDI (foreign direct
investment) and we will gain mutual benefit from it," Randt
said.
But he said for "national security" reasons, some regulations
had to be enforced.
Renminbi appreciation
Commenting on trade disputes between the two countries, Guo said
both sides should consider them in a "comprehensive" way, and the
appreciation of China's currency is not a "promising" solution to
the problem.
His words come at a time when China faces mounting pressure to
increase the value of the renminbi.
"As a matter of fact, China and the US are complementary in
trade and exchange rate adjustment can play some role but not a
very significant one because China's trade to a great extent has a
re-export pattern," Guo said.
The three-day symposium is an annual event jointly organized by
the China Development Research Foundation and Harvard
University.
(China Daily June 26, 2006)