Today President Barack Obama took the unusual step Friday of citing national security grounds to block a Chinese-owned company from owning or building four wind farm projects in Oregon — acting little more than a month before an election in which he and Mitt Romney have traded accusations of going soft on China.
It was the first time in 22 years that a U.S. president has blocked such a foreign business deal, The Associated Press reported.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that Obama’s order was a matter of national security, citing the wind farms’ location “within or in the vicinity of restricted air space at Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility Boardman in Oregon.”
The European Commission during a recent visit of the Chinese PM Wen said China still needs to show less government influence over its businesses, including those in the financial sector, and to adopt transparent laws on corporate governance, property and bankruptcy to be eligible for market economy status.
There are also serious irritants about the E.U for Beijing, including the ban on arms exports to China, and the reluctance of Europe to classify China as a modern, open economy, which would clear the way for advantages on tariffs.
The EU bloc is certainly attractive to Chinese investors with a market of 500 million consumers, a highly educated labour force and the most innovative economy in the world.
It is predicted that China will make between €800 billion and €1.6 trillion worth of new investments abroad between 2010 and 2020.
EU-Digest
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