Chinese corporate investment reignites hopes for South Carolina’s “Textile Industry Corridor”

“Investing in a country is equivalent to a vote of confidence in the host country.” Faced with the rapid growth of Chinese companies’ investment in the United States, former U.S. Assistant Trade Representative Charles Bloom believes that promoting healthy investment is important for the economic relations between the two countries. ‘s future is crucial. The reporter went to many places in South Carolina to inspect the booming investment by Chinese companies in the United States and feel the positive energy that Chinese investment has injected into the development of relations between the two countries.
​Benchmarking effect, injecting “beautiful booster” into the local area
A Chinese-funded project is under intense construction next to Interstate 77 in South Carolina. China Cole Group, headquartered in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, chose to locate its first overseas factory in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The project has a total investment of US$218 million and is expected to create more than 500 local jobs in the next five years.
Lancaster County was once a famous textile industry town in the United States. From the end of the 19th century until 2007, the textile industry was the mainstay of the local economy. At its peak, the “Textile Industry Corridor” composed of Lancaster and two other surrounding counties once gathered 20 textile companies. But by 2007, as the last textile factory moved to Latin America, the local textile industry almost disappeared.
Keith Tunnel, director of the Lancaster County Investment Promotion Bureau, said frankly that he was both surprised and delighted by the arrival of Cole Group. “Cole is like a catalyst, giving hope for the rebirth of the Lancaster textile industry.” Tunnell He said that due to the benchmarking effect of Cole Group, some other textile companies from China and India have planned to invest locally.
It is reported that the Cole Group’s project is expected to be put into operation in March next year. It will take advantage of South Carolina’s central location in the US cotton production area to produce industrial cotton yarn. The reporter saw at the scene that the frame structure of the factory building has been completed. Wang Lu, deputy general manager of Cole America, told reporters that part of the products will be shipped back to China for sale, and the other part will be supplied to the local and surrounding markets in the United States.
On the other side of Interstate 77 in Chester County, Zhejiang Cixi Jiangnan Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. just recently put up the sign of its American branch. The company’s location was once a factory that produced household products, which closed in 2008. At the entrance of the factory, the original company’s sign is still there. Sun Ya, deputy general manager of Cixi Jiangnan Chemical Fiber, told reporters that the company bought the factory and land in December last year and is currently grading the site. It is expected to be completed and put into production in February next year, using recycled plastic bottles to produce polyester short fiber. Meet the needs of U.S. customers. In the next five years, the factory is expected to create 319 local jobs.
Carissa Parker, director of the Chester County Investment Promotion Bureau, was very pleased to see this once empty factory area becoming busy again. She described Cixi Jiangnan Chemical Fiber as a “beautiful shot in the arm” to the local area, allowing unemployed people to The opportunity to return to work.
Since 2010, Chinese companies’ investment in the United States has grown rapidly. The reporter learned in South Carolina that at least three Chinese-funded factories are under construction there, including Cole Group and Cixi Jiangnan Chemical Fiber. Investment from China has reached a considerable scale in South Carolina and has become an important part of the South Carolina economy. According to data from the South Carolina Department of Commerce, China was the state’s largest export market in 2013 and the second largest source of investment. So far, 17 Chinese companies have invested in South Carolina, with an investment of US$656 million, creating a total of more than 2,800 jobs.
​Huge potential, especially greenfield investment that will increase employment
South Carolina has a developed manufacturing industry and is at the forefront of states in the United States in attracting foreign investment. Robert Hitt, director of the state’s Department of Commerce, said in an interview with reporters that China and the United States are both huge economies, and China is growing much faster than the United States. Many American companies have diversified their global presence, and China is moving in this direction. “This is good for everyone and gives us more reasons to cooperate.” Hitt said: “We are seeing more and more investment activities from China. This is a development trend.”
The situation in South Carolina is a microcosm of the rapid growth of investment by Chinese companies in the United States. From California on the west coast to New York on the east coast, from Alabama in the south to Utah in the midwest, all parts of the United States attach great importance to developing “partnership” with China. According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Commerce of China, from January to May this year, China invested US$2.03 billion in the United States, an increase of 144%.
Utah, with a population of only 3 million, also sent a business representative to China to actively attract investment. Brett Hanenberg, director of international trade and foreign affairs for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, previously told this reporter that China has always been an important partner of Utah. China is Utah’s fastest growing export market. Regarding investment from China, Hanberg said that there are some projects, but they have not yet reached the expected level, and “there is still great potential for growth in the future.”
Bloom told reporters that there is still great potential for Chinese companies to invest in the United States. The United States particularly welcomes greenfield investments that create new jobs. He believes that expanding investment by Chinese companies in the United States can not only boost U.S. output, increase income, and reduce the U.S.-China trade imbalance, but Chinese investors can also get returns.
​Growth rapidly, but there are still imbalances in two-way investment
Despite the rapid growth, the scale of two-way investment between China and the United States is still not commensurate with the scale of the two economies, and there is also an imbalance in two-way investment. China has relatively little investment in the United States. But Sino-US investment is undergoing structural changes. Gary Hufbauer, a senior researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in the United States, predicts that China’s investment in the United States this year may exceed the amount of U.S. investment in China. Sino-US two-way investment has reached an important turning point. Hufbauer believes that the Sino-US bilateral investment agreement is very important and can increase market opening and access between the United States and China. If negotiated, it will significantly increase two-way investment.
Regarding China’s concerns about whether the U.S. Foreign Investment Review Board can treat Chinese companies fairly, Hufbauer said that the United States should strictly limit its review to real national security areas. He also said that the Foreign Investment Review Board’s procedures could be made more transparent. For example, they never released the national security review files. Hufbauer said that even within the established legislative framework, the U.S. government can make its national security review mechanism for foreign mergers and acquisitions more transparent.
“Investing in a country is equivalent to a vote of confidence in the host country.” Bloom said that promoting healthy investment is crucial to the future of the economic relationship between the two countries. Based on the principle of mutual benefit, both the United States and China should welcome investment from the other side. investment, avoid discrimination against foreign capital, and minimize the degree of regulation in restricted industries such as national defense and communications.