Chinese investors see opportunities at US summit

For Liu Shoutian, chairman of Beiyang Financial Leasing (Tianjin) Co Ltd, investing in the United States now looks so much easier than it did before.

Just two hours after US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker gave her welcoming remarks at the 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit on Monday, Liu said he was surprised that the threshold of investing in the US was not as high as he imagined. "I didn't realize that the US was so eager to attract foreign investment, in a sense even more eager than China," he said.

The summit in Washington on June 19-21 has drawn some 2,400 attendees from 70 markets, including about 150 from the Chinese mainland, the largest of all delegations.

Liu, who is attending the summit for the first time, said he is looking for opportunities in manufacturing and trade. His company's main investments in China are in healthcare and petrochemicals.

US President Barack Obama delivered a lunch keynote speech in which he touted the US as the place for investors in every aspect of business, from innovation to global supply chains.

"If you choose a place to expand your portfolio, to place your bets, to open up a plant, to start building the next great new business or service, you should select the USA - because nowhere in the world and never in history has there been a better place to grow your business," Obama said.

Hu Bo, general manager of Shenzhen HQT Petroleum and Additives Co Ltd, said he was impressed to find that the governmental test centers in the US are providing free services to businesses.

"That is probably why US companies can make such high-quality products," he said. "In China, such tests are very expensive."

Hu said he came to find out about the gap between his company's products and those in the US and also see if there might be a partnership for a joint venture.

Zhu Haicheng, deputy director of the Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Chession Law Firm, said he came to the summit on behalf of his three clients in textiles and equipment manufacturing who have been selling their products in the US market through trade companies.

Allan Fong contributed to this story.