Is it time for a crackdown on Chinese state-owned enterprises buying stakes in US companies? A key policy group thinks so, according to a report released on Wednesday that may provide ammunition to the incoming Republican administration as it eyes a more protectionist stance on global trade.
With the US-China trade deficit reaching its highest level on record last year – $365.7bn, 6.5 per cent higher than a year earlier – the US-China Economic Security Review Commission, which makes policy recommendations to the US government on its trade relationship with China, is recommending that the US stop China’s state-owned enterprises from acquiring or otherwise gaining control of American companies.
Chinese investment in US companies “is rising rapidly and will continue to rise” as China looks beyond its borders to juice up economic growth, the panel wrote in its annual report to Congress.