US protectionist fangs bare in Unocal bid
By Matthew Benjamin (usnews.com)
Updated: 2005-07-10 22:04

Small potatoes. The heated rhetoric of CAFTA's opponents belies the size of the trade pact: The combined economies of the other six signatories to the pact is less than one one-hundredth the size of the U.S. economy. Says Barfield, "It will be virtually impossible for economists to measure the effects of this agreement on the U.S. economy."

Not so when it comes to China. At its current pace of 9 percent or so annual growth, the world's seventh-largest economy is rapidly scaling the ladder of economic heavies. China is already America's third-largest trading partner and ran a $161.9 billion trade surplus with the United States last year.

When China invests solely in U.S. treasury securities--it now holds $230 billion of U.S. government debt, second only to Japan--few seem to mind. But now growing Chinese firms are flexing their muscles: This spring, Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group bought IBM's personal-computer unit for $1.75 billion, and Haier Group, the largest appliance maker in China, has a $1.28 billion bid pending for Maytag.

So far, China has been investing the bulk of its trade surplus in U.S. treasuries. The Unocal bid, partly subsidized by the Chinese government, shows China is interested in a better return on its money. Still, American investment in Chinese nonfinancial assets was about $4.2 billion last year, compared with Chinese investment of $181 million here.

"U.S. foreign direct investment in China dwarfs their foreign investment here," says Nicholas Lardy of the Institute for International Economics, "though that might change if they buy one Unocal per year." Things being what they are in Washington, however, it looks like the Chinese may not get that chance.