‘Ban sale of US firms to China’
MAJOR THREAT: Beijing using stateowned enterprises to advance national security objectives, says US panel
UNITED States lawmakers should take action to ban China’s state-owned firms from acquiring US companies, a congressional panel charged with monitoring security and trade links between Washington and Beijing said on Wednesday.
In its annual report to Congress, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCESRC) said the Chinese Communist Party had used state-backed enterprises as the primary economic tool to advance and achieve its national security objectives.
The report recommended Congress prohibit US acquisitions by such entities by changing the mandate of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
“The commission recommends Congress amend the statute authorising CFIUS to bar Chinese stateowned enterprises from acquiring or otherwise gaining effective control of US companies,” the report said.
CFIUS, led by the US Treasury and with representatives from eight other agencies, including the departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security, now has veto power over acquisitions from foreign private and state-controlled firms if it finds that a deal would threaten US national security or critical infrastructure.
If enacted, the panel’s recommendation would essentially create a blanket ban on US purchases by Chinese state-owned enterprises.
The report “has again revealed the commission’s stereotypes and prejudices,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang in Beijing.
“We ask that Chinese companies investing abroad abide by local laws and regulations, and we hope that relevant countries will create a level playing field.”
The panel’s report is advisory, but could carry extra weight this year because President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is formulating its trade and foreign policy agenda and vetting candidates for economic and security positions.
Congress also could be more receptive, after US voter sentiment against job losses to China and Mexico helped Republicans retain control of both the House and the Senate in last week’s election.
Trump strongly criticised China throughout the US election campaign, grabbing headlines with his pledges to slap 45 per cent tariffs on imported Chinese goods and to label the country a currency manipulator Students at the Tagou martial arts school in Dengfeng, Henan province, recently. (Inset) The students have a strong foundation in kung fu. AFP pix
football. Their jumping ability is helpful,” said Sun.
The training base has drawn comparisons with the hit 2001 Hong Kong film Shaolin Soccer, about a ragtag band of out-of-shape martial artists who defy the odds to storm to victory in a football tournament.
The film’s heroes play in yellow monks’ robes, flying through the air, carrying out dazzling dives and overhead kicks of tornado-like power and winning one game 40-0.
“The flying... and those sort of awesome things I can’t do,” admitted 12-year-old winger Sun Linyuan. on his first day in office.
“Chinese state-owned enterprises are arms of the Chinese state,” said USCESRC chairman Dennis Shea.
“We don’t want the US government purchasing companies in the United States, why would we want the Chinese Communist government purchasing companies in the United States?”
The recommendation to change laws governing CFIUS was one of 20 proposals the panel made to Congress. On the military side, it called for a government investigation into how far outsourcing to China had weakened the US defence industry.
The panel also said Congress should pass legislation that would require its pre-approval of any move by the US Commerce Department to declare China a “market economy” and limit anti-dumping tariffs against the country.
The US and American businesses attracted a record US$64.5 billion (RM283 billion) worth of deals involving buyers from mainland China
But he added: “In the future I will be able to do spinning kicks and bicycle kicks. Then I’ll be a better footballer.”
Each child who signs up for the soccer programme practises for several hours every day and the school has signed a deal with a British firm to import coaches.
Sun’s group split into two teams, with captains assigning positions. One striker in a number 10 jersey backflipped his way onto the pitch.
Despite their years of kung fu training, the students’ football skills were still a work in progress, school staff admitted, with sloppy defending, this year, more than any other country targeted by Chinese buyers.
The push into the US is part of a global overseas buying spree by Chinese companies that this year has seen a record US$200 billion worth of deals, nearly double last year’s tally.
CFIUS has shown a higher degree of activism against Chinese buyers this year, catching some by surprise. Prominent deals that fell victim to CFIUS include Tsinghua Holdings’ US$3.8 billion investment in Western Digital.
CFIUS has not been a significant obstacle to Chinese investment in the US. In 2014, China topped the list of foreign countries in CFIUS review with 24 deals reviewed out of more than 100 scrutinised by CFIUS.
Although the number of Chinese transactions reviewed rose in absolute terms, it fell as a share of overall Chinese acquisitions, the report noted, and the vast majority of deals reviewed by CFIUS were cleared. Reuters shaky shooting and poor ball control all in evidence.
“You’re just running wherever the ball is! Do you think that’s ok?” an exasperated Sun told his students in a half-time huddle. “Should you be marking people or not?”
“Yes!” the students all affirmed at once.
Sun admitted there was a “vast” difference between the “Beautiful Game” and Shaolin kungfu.
Still, he said, “We are the number one school for martial arts. So we have the confidence that in another area we can also be among the nation’s best.” AFP