Time to cure US of its paranoia about FDI by Chinese firms

The US administration says it welcomes foreign investment, but it is politicizing Chinese foreign direct investment yet again. Perhaps the US is paranoid about Chinese FDI. An example of its paranoia about Chinese FDI was the Securities and Exchange Commission's order on Aug 9 to put an indefinite hold on a $20 million acquisition of the Chicago Stock Exchange by a group of buyers led by Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group.

The decision was made after some US congressmen voiced concern that the deal could pose a threat to national security despite the fact that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States cleared the transaction in December.

No wonder a recent report in The Wall Street Journal said: "The Chicago Stock Exchange is a relic of history, trading less than 0.5 percent of US stocks and in such straits that it has been looking for a buyer. That isn't how US officials see it."