An American Open Door? Maximizing the Benefits of Chinese Direct Investment

The coming decade will bring an unprecedented amount of Chinese capital seeking direct investment opportunities abroad: over $1 trillion by 2020, a significant share of which will be destined for the United States. This investment has the potential to enrich the United States through increased innovation, job creation and infrastructure renewal, and build a more cooperative relationship with China.

Chinese direct investment into the United States is more than doubling annually, with over $5 billion in 2010 alone. Despite an overall effective U.S. screening policy for inward investment, political interference and fearmongering threaten to divert legitimate and potentially beneficial investment deals.

This Special Report was undertaken to help shape an American response to these inbound Chinese direct investment flows in order to maximize the potential benefits for the United States while appropriately addressing national security concerns.

The report is structured as follows:

1. Analyzes the data and trends behind China's outward direct investment;

2. Assesses the impacts of direct investment on the U.S. economy, in terms of employment, competitiveness, innovation, and national security;

3. Examines the current U.S. inward investment screening policies and politics;

4. Makes recommendations to maximize U.S. benefits from China's direct investment in the United States.

Watch the release of this groundbreaking report above on webcast.

The honorable Gary Locke, United States Secretary of Commerce provided the keynote address.

Chinese ambassador to the United States, Zhang Yesui was also in attendance.

The authors of the report are Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann of The Rhodium Group.