Chinese investors must tread carefully in Ohio_美文

Chinese investors must tread carefully in Ohio

The Chinese are not going to Toledo for the beer but because this down-on-its-luck city offers not only bargain-basement deals but a unique geography as well. As one of the Chinese investors points out, Toledo is a "five star logistical region" with easy access to Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Detroit.

The Chinese investors can indeed be saviors if they are sensitive to local conditions and local people. They needn't repeat the arrogant behavior of the Japanese in the 1980s in the US before their bubble spectacularly burst.

The following months represent a very sensitive period in the US, just as it does in China. Nowhere in America will the spotlight focus more intensely than on Ohio because this is one of the few states in which this too-close-to-call presidential contest will likely be won or lost. During the election, we can expect a steady diet of anti-China rhetoric. China is an easy target, and China-bashing will be frequent until Nov 7, the day after the election. Every misstep that the Chinese investors make could easily end up as part of a Barack Obama or Mitt Romney campaign speech.

Americans, who may have been more friendly to China in years past, are trending quite negative recently. A Pew survey found that just 40 percent of Americans view China favorably, down from 51 percent last year. A recent Gallup-China Daily USA poll showed just 42 percent of Americans with a favorable view of China, with 44 percent unfavorable. Even the most positive recent survey of Americans from the Committee of 100 shows a bare majority of 55 percent (with a 3 percent margin of error) with a favorable view of China. Both presidential candidates avidly read polls, and adjust their campaign rhetoric accordingly, so these results are bound to influence their behavior, which of course will not be to China's benefit.