US embraces China's largest delegation seeking investment opportunities

An annual investment summit in Washington, D.C. has attracted a record number of more than 150 Chinese investors, China Business News reported, citing information from the US embassy, which represents another strong year for cross-border investments.

The three-day SelectUSA Investment Summit, which ends on Tuesday, is an event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the US since its inception in 2013.

The theme of the summit this year is "Grow with US", focusing on the innovative business climate in the United States and featuring the country's investment opportunities.

According to a report by Rhodium Group and the National Committee on US-China Relations, an American nonprofit organization, US-China two-way FDI reached an all-time high of over $60 billion (409 billion yuan) in 2016, and its growth was driven "entirely" by China's outbound investment.

The cumulative value of US FDI transactions in China since 1990 has exceeded $240 billion as of the end of 2016, while this figure was only $110 billion for Chinese companies' investment in the US, the report says.

In 2016, 90 percent of Chinese FDI centered on services and advanced manufacturing, and entertainment, electronics and financial services stood out. This compares to over two-thirds of total Chinese FDI from 1990 to 2015 that concentrated on real estate and hospitality, information and communications technology (ICT), energy, and agriculture and food, according to the report.

Geographically, another Rhodium Group dataset measured by individual operations shows that all 50 states and 98 percent of electoral districts (qualified to elect congress members in the US) hosted operations of Chinese-owned companies as of 2016.

California has been proved to be the prime destination for Chinese investment, having received 441 deals worth of $26.4 billion from 2000 to the first quarter of 2017. The state's transport and infrastructure industry obtained the most investment of $6.03 billion, followed by $5.99 billion of ICT, as Rhodium Group, tracking Chinese direct investment in the US, says.

In regard to the economic relationship between China and the US, Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, said earlier this month that the Trump administration would like to negotiate specific issues of market access and fairness rather than a large agreement like the Bilateral Investment Treaty.

"Once we make progress in that, we can turn to the bilateral investment agreement," he said.

Tan Xinyu contributed to this story.