Chinese Companies Need Not Fear US Election

Published in zhgpl.com
(China) on 6 October 2012
by Unknown (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Cheryl Tevis. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
What choices will President Obama make in regard to Chinese investments? Last year, during President Hu Jintao's visit to the U.S., Obama had said business opportunities in the U.S. were limitless, and that he hoped to continue to tap into the potential of Sino-U.S. trade. However, faced with the pressure in the general election, Obama denied Sany, a private enterprise, a U.S. wind power project on the grounds of “national security.”

One the one hand, there is the expectation of further cooperation within Sino-U.S. trade, but on the other hand there was the refusal to bring in a powerful Chinese enterprise investment. Obama’s paradoxical methods are really not surprising; as he faces the aggressive posture of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, he is also bringing a “tough on China” attitude to the fight. Because he refused Sany, the company brought up a lawsuit against the government.

In the first presidential debate on the 3rd, the economy was the hot topic. But sadly, neither Obama nor Romney gave any solutions to recover the U.S. economy.

The U.S. economy does not punish China as a way to solve its issues. As the largest holder of its debt, China is one key player in the U.S. economy that the U.S. cannot live without. In addition, the development of economic globalization trend became irreversible long ago. Chinese and U.S. interests are intertwined; economic and trade interdependence has already been formed. Despite the difficulty of global economic recovery, Sino-U.S. trade still managed to buck the trend. According to Chinese Ministry of Commerce statistics, in 2011, the Sino-U.S. trade volume reached $446.7 billion, a record high. U.S. exports to China exceeded the $100 billion mark, reaching $122.2 billion. This was an increase of 20 percent over the same period. China and the U.S. have become each other's largest trading partners. If the U.S. were to punish such an important partner, it would inevitably hurt itself.

For the U.S. itself, the real need is to address the looming problem of the “fiscal cliff.” When the extension of the George W. Bush administration’s tax cut plan and long-term unemployment benefit policies are up, either government debt or another instance of "peaking" and going back to laissez-faire development will be a direct blow to U.S. future economic growth. U.S. trade protectionism against China, with the exception of reaping political benefits, cannot fundamentally solve the current economic predicament.

In reality, Romney and Obama are not at all aware of this. Even though both of them have recently been speaking of China in a critical light, during the first presidential debate, Obama almost never directly spoke of China and Romney only brought up China a couple of times. Moreover their criticism towards China was not heated. It is clear that the two men’s “critical stance” on China is only lip-service for the general election.

Sany is using the law to fight for its rights. As for other Chinese companies, they must face the challenge head-on in the same way, by using their position to take active steps to play an important role in the U.S. economy. Why should they fear the U.S. general election creating difficulties for them?


中国企业无需惧怕美国大选

中评社香港10月6日电/美国《侨报》10月5日载文《中国企业无需惧怕美国大选》,摘要如下:

  “面对来自中国的投资,奥巴马总统会做出什么样的选择?尽管去年胡锦涛主席访美期间,奥巴马曾表示中企在美商机无限,希望继续挖掘美中贸易的潜能,但是在大选压力的面前,奥巴马还是以“国家安全”为由,拒绝了中国民企三一重工收购美国风电项目的计划。

  一方面是对美中贸易深入合作的期待,一方面却拒绝了来自中国有实力企业的投资。奥巴马自相矛盾的做法并不令人意外,面对共和党总统候选人罗姆尼咄咄逼人的态势,奥巴马也同样以“对华强硬”的态度来应战。因为拒绝三一重工,他还被该企业提起诉讼。


在4日举行的总统大选第一次辩论中,经济话题成为焦点,但遗憾的是,奥巴马和罗姆尼都没有为拯救美国经济开出好的药方。

  美国经济不是靠惩罚中国的方式才能觅得出路,中国作为美债的最大持有国,是美国经济离不开的关键角色。而且经济全球化发展趋势早已不可逆转,中美利益交融、相互依存的经济贸易关系已经形成,尽管世界经济复苏艰难,但中美贸易仍逆势上扬。根据中国商务部的统计:2011年,中美贸易额达到4467亿美元,创下历史新高。这其中美国对中国出口突破1000亿美元关口,达到1222亿美元,同比上升20%,中美双方已互为第二大贸易伙伴,惩罚一个如此重要的伙伴,美国势必也会自伤。

  对美国自身而言,真正需要解决的是迫在眉睫的“财政悬崖”问题:小布什政府时期的减税计划和长期失业者救济金延期政策到期,政府债务或再次“触顶”,放任发展,将会直接打击美国未来经济发展。美国针对中国的贸易保护主义行为,除了收获政治目的外,并不能在根本上扭转美国目前的经济困局。

事实上,罗姆尼和奥巴马并非不知道这点,虽然近期两位候选人都频频对中国放狠话。不过,在首场大选辩论中,奥巴马几乎没有直接提及中国。而罗姆尼提及中国也仅两次左右,针对中国的批评也不是很激烈。可见,这两人对中国的“狠意”也仅仅是服务于大选的表态。

  三一重工已拿起法律武器维权,对其他中国企业而言,同样应正视自己在美国经济中所能发挥的重要作用,摆正位置积极应对,又何须惧怕美国大选滋生出的种种刁难。
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