US companies losing opportunities because of tariff war

Editor's note: Some US officials recently claimed that the tariff policy adopted by the United States is dealing a heavy blow to China's economy since foreign investment is leaving China, but the fact is that foreign investment continues to flow into China, and even the investment of US companies continues to increase. 21st Century Business Herald comments:

Statistics show that from January to July 2019, a total of 24,050 new foreign-funded enterprises were set up nationwide, and foreign capital actually used reached 533.14 billion yuan ($83.4 billion), up 7.3 percent year-on-year. Against the backdrop of rising global protectionism and slowing global growth, the influx of so much foreign capital shows China's attractiveness to foreign investment.

The US has been trying to force its overseas companies to return home by imposing tariffs, but its investment in China still keeps increasing. For example, Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, the largest recipient of foreign investment in the first half of this year, introduced 33 US-funded projects and 29 US-funded enterprises increased their investment in the first seven months of this year.

The US has chosen the wrong time to wage a tariff war against China. China has transformed from an export-dependent economy to a domestic demand-driven one, with consumption accounting for more than 60 percent of GDP. China's middle-class population of more than 400 million who are upgrading their consumption are also generating fast-growing demand for US goods and services. Besides, China has been promoting higher-quality development and transformation and upgrading of its industry and services, which will also provide more opportunities for foreign companies, including those from the US.

At a time when China is undergoing technological change for high-quality development and the Chinese market is greatly increasing demands for US enterprises, the trade war launched by the US is preventing its enterprises from gaining more market share and opportunities in China. No wonder US companies are still increasing their investment in China. The uncertainty created by the US trade attack on China has not only hurt US companies' investments, but will also cause them to lose their advantages in China.

The US has no advantages any more to develop manufacturing, so its attempt to force its manufacturing enterprises to return home will not achieve expected effects, and what the US' tariff policy really hurts is the interests of its own companies.