Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States totaled $18 billion in the first half of 2016 and is on track to hit another record this year, according to a report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Before 2008, China invested only about $500 million annually. Investments began to rise significantly in 2010 when they hit $4.5 billion, increasing nearly every year after that until they hit a record of $15.3 billion in 2015.
"Completed transactions in the first half of the year add up to $18 billion, which puts the U.S. on track for another record year in 2016," the report says.
Rep. Robert Pittenger (R., N.C.) said he believes that China is on pace to have as much as $40 billion of investments this year.
According to the report, the Chinese invest most heavily in real estate, hospitality, high-tech sectors like information and communication technology, energy, and manufacturing. Currently, the Chinese invest in 47 states in the United States, employing more than 100,000 workers.
"The U.S. is a preferred destination for the kinds of investment and assets that Chinese investors are seeking: investments that allow them to upgrade technology and innovate capacity, companies that help them to get ready for a more consumer-oriented Chinese economy, and safe-haven assets that allow them to store value and gain stable long-term returns," the report says.
While the group notes that Chinese investment can foster job creation and opportunity, it is concerned that Chinese government policies may influence the direction of these companies.
"China can put significant pressure on any Chinese company," Pittenger said. "They are not a free market and the government has extraordinary authority over these companies whether they have direct relationship back to the communist government or not, so we should be mindful of that."
One of the areas of Chinese government influence is in the semiconductor industry, according to the report.
"In 2014, China enacted a new national policy to accelerate the development of its semiconductor industry, which includes overseas investment as one element," the report states. "After the announcement of this initiative, private investors and government funds have embarked on an unprecedented buying spree of assets along the semiconductor supply chain in Asia, Europe, and North America."
According to the report, before 2014, Chinese investment in the semiconductor industry totaled $200 million but grew to $800 million after the new national policy was implemented.
From 2000 through 2016, the 20 largest Chinese investors in the United States included eight that were state-owned and 12 that were private. The 12 private investors spent $40.1 billion during that time and state-owned investors spent $16.2 billion during that time.
"While these inflows are likely to make a meaningful net addition to U.S. investment, job creation, and commercial opportunity, we know from previous instances of new investor arrivals in America that deepening investment links can also precipitate national security concerns, adverse political reactions, and misgivings," the report says
"It is therefore in the interest of the United States to better understand the nature of these inflows and how to interpret them, in order to secure the benefits without anxiety over known and unknown potential risks," the group adds
Pittenger has called for a Government Accountability Office review of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the group that evaluates the transactions of state-owned enterprises to determine their effect on national security. The congressman said he is concerned that the increase in Chinese investment in the United States affects American national security.
"We are concerned at two different levels," Pittenger said. "One of course are levels where it directly affects our national security—the supply chain capabilities and interception there with the defense related industry."
"Whether it's the Chicago stock exchange or acquiring companies that will benefit their own economy, it's become a grey area for CFIUS to make those decisions of what is good economic investment in the United States," he said. "Yet at the same time when we boost and assist their economy, we're enhancing the threat that they are against us."
"So I think it warrants our full attention to understand the overall impact of enhancing their economy," he added.
"The role of CFIUS should be clarified," Pittenger said. "That's why I've called for this GAO review of CFIUS to evaluate the scope of their mission and what they should have inside their own structure to enable to perform."