SHANGHAI, Aug 30 — China has defended its business practices after US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said American firms had told her it had become “uninvestible,” highlighting a trend of global investors turning away from assets in the world’s second-largest economy.
Asked to respond to the comments Raimondo made in China, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu said that most of the 70,000 US firms doing business in China wanted to stay, that nearly 90 per cent were profitable, and that Beijing was working to further ease market access for foreign companies.
But yesterday, she told reporters on a highspeed train from Beijing to Shanghai that US companies had complained to her that China has become “uninvestible,” pointing to fines, raids and other actions that have made it risky to do business in the world’s second-largest economy.Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said businesses had been “very clear” in making their concerns known to the Chinese government.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson did not respond directly to the “uninvestible” comment when asked at a briefing, instead repeating calls for the US to take more “practical and beneficial actions” to maintain ties. Raimondo said this week she did not pull any punches in meeting with Chinese officials discussing the concerns of US businesses, including raising the treatment of Micron.