China hopes that the U.S. security review system will become more open and transparent

China hopes that the U.S. security review system will become more open and transparent. The Wall Street Journal reported: As Chinese companies’ investment in the United States grows rapidly, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming called...

China hopes that the U.S. security review system will be more open and transparent. The Wall Street Journal reported: As Chinese companies’ investments in the United States are growing rapidly, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming called on the U.S. to make its national security review more open and transparent. China's direct investment in the United States reached a record level last year, and analysts say there are still about $5 billion in Chinese investment in the United States awaiting approval from U.S. regulatory authorities this year. The rapid growth of bilateral investment has caused Chinese companies to encounter problems during regulatory review. The most common reason used by the United States is that it endangers U.S. national security, but China believes that this reason is too vague. Chen Deming said at the press conference of the National People's Congress that every country needs its own security review, China needs to do the same, and China must also learn from the United States' security review. Chen Deming said that at the same time in its interactions with the United States, China very much hopes that this kind of security review can be more open and transparent so that companies can have predictability, because companies often do not know whether the projects they invest in meet the national security requirements of the United States. Some recent Chinese overseas investments have run afoul of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and were ultimately blocked by federal regulators. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.'s bids for U.S. network security company 3Com in 2008 and Motorola's wireless equipment business in 2010 both failed due to U.S. national security concerns. In October last year, a committee of the U.S. Congress warned in a report that telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei and China's ZTE Corporation posed a threat to U.S. national security. Both companies deny the accusation. Also in October last year, Chinese heavy industry giant Sany Group Co., Ltd. sued the Obama administration over its investment in a wind farm in Oregon, claiming that the United States was unfairly excluding Chinese companies. Sany also warned that the U.S. ruling on the company's bid would pose a threat to further overseas investment. However, U.S. regulators last month approved China's largest overseas acquisition to date, China National Offshore Oil Corporation's $15.1 billion acquisition of Canadian oil and gas company Nexen. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States also approved China's BGI's $118 million acquisition of Mountain View, California, at the end of December last year, but the deal still needs approval from U.S. antitrust agencies and Chinese regulators. Chen Deming also told reporters on Friday that China Petrochemical Corporation is preparing to acquire shale gas projects in the United States and is considering acquiring 30%-50% of the shares in these projects. Sinopec Group successfully acquired a partial interest in Devon Energy Company for US$2.5 billion in January and will exploit leaf rock gas fields in Ohio and Michigan. This is the company's first acquisition in the United States. According to data provided by Rhodium Group, a New York consulting firm that tracks China's foreign investment, China's direct investment in the United States hit a record high last year, with the amount of completed transactions reaching $6.5 billion, a 17% increase from the previous record high of $5.5 billion set in 2010. Rhodium said that given that there are still approximately US$5 billion in Chinese investment in the United States awaiting approval from US regulatory authorities, it is expected that investment in the United States is likely to maintain the above-mentioned growth momentum this year. Thilo Hanemann, an analyst at Rhodium, said in a report that China's structural reforms, a policy environment conducive to foreign investment and the improvement of the U.S. economic outlook will help Chinese funds continue to flow into the United States.