Investment protectionism a new US weapon

The United States recently changed its trade policy toward China, straining bilateral ties, and intensified its protectionist measures against Chinese investments. And if the bill four US senators submitted a few days ago to Congress seeking a review of foreign investment is accepted, it will have a negative impact on global overseas direct investment.

The US' protectionist measures against foreign investment increased as well as strengthened after the global financial crisis. Over the past few years, Chinese investments in the US have frequently faced national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

CFIUS reviews of Chinese investments have increased sharply, from 1.56 percent in 2005 to 21.6 percent in 2013. From 2010 to 2013, cases involving Chinese investments made up 14.5 percent of the foreign investment cases subjected to security review (60 out of 415 cases). And last year, CFIUS reviews of foreign investments hit a record high of 170, with Chinese investments the most scrutinized, as they have been for the past three years.