Locke urges China to lift investment restrictions

駱家輝呼吁中國減少在華投資限制

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urged the Chinese government on Wednesday to lift investment restrictions on foreign companies operating in the country.

In a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C., Locke expressed concerns over Chinese political transparency and intellectual property right protections in China.

"Now, a lack of transparency and lax intellectual property protections all indirectly make it less appealing for foreign companies to invest in China," Locke said.

Locke singled out China's revised foreign-investment catalogue, saying that the new catalogue did not meet the promises China made last year to lift prohibitions on industries dominated by U.S. firms.

But Locke also admitted that Chinese investment benefits the U.S. economy. China's foreign direct investment (FDI) "is good for American workers and good for American businesses," he said.

Locke made the remarks ahead of the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which will be held on May 9-10 in Washington, DC.

According to the report jointly released by Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations and the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, China's outbound FDI will reach US$1 to $2 trillion by 2020 and will bring huge economic benefits to the U.S. The report also warned that the U.S. "may squander immense opportunities for employment and investment gains through political fear-mongering."

美國商務部長駱家輝4號呼吁中國政府減少對美國公司在華投資的限制。

美國商務部長駱家輝在華盛頓伍德羅威爾遜中心發表演說，批評了中國的政策透明度和知識產權保護力度的不足。

“目前，缺乏透明度和知識產權保護的松懈使得外國公司在中國的投資環境吸引力下降。”駱家輝表示。

駱家輝提到了中國最新修訂的外商投資產業指導目錄，認為該目錄沒有兌現去年中國所承諾的開放一些美國公司強項的投資領域。

但駱家輝同時也承認美國經濟受惠于來自中國的投資。中國的對外直接投資“對美國工人是好事，對美國企業也是好事。”駱家輝說道。

駱家輝的此番演講發表于中美戰略經濟對話前夕，本輪對話將于5月9-10日再華盛頓舉行。

美國智庫亞洲協會和基辛格中美關系研究所周三發布了一份起迄今止最為全面的中國對美直接投資的報告，報告顯示2020年中國對外直接投資將高達1萬至2萬億美元，可能給美國帶來巨大經濟利益。報告警告，如果美國在政治上宣揚恐華，會導致美國措施增加就業和投資的良機。