China Business Law Journal: China Targets the West
Washington, D.C., partner Elliot Feldman, leader of Baker Hostetler's international trade practice and an author of the firm's China-U.S. Trade Law blog, was quoted in the February 2010 edition of China Business Law Journal in the article, "China Targets the West."
According to the article, cash-rich Chinese companies are purchasing billions of dollars worth of assets in the developed economies of North America, Europe and Australia. As these businesses seek overseas acquisitions to build economies of scale, acquire technology or launch into new markets, they are finding they need help with foreign law. As a result, both international and Chinese law firms are ramping up their ability to handle outbound Chinese investment, according to the article.
Deals involving Chinese entities—especially in sensitive sectors—often receive much more scrutiny than those from other nations, according to the article. "There have been unfortunate episodes with the Foreign Investment and National Security Act that have given some Chinese the understandable impression that the United States is hostile to Chinese investment," said Feldman. "There are always cultural and language issues and we are particularly sensitive to them," Feldman acknowledged. "However, there is a greater challenge with China because of antipathy in [the US] Congress. There are congressmen routinely proposing anti-China legislation, whether expressly in allegations of currency manipulation or in modest disguise such as climate legislation."