China firms worry on business barriers after two companies reported to be posing security risk change
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BEIJING (AFP) - A top US official on Wednesday tried to ease fears among Chinese firms of barriers doing business in the US after a Washington committee accused two companies of posing a security risk.
Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats was speaking at a forum in Beijing to promote Chinese investment in the US, two months after the congressional committee said Huawei and ZTE should be excluded from government contracts because their equipment could be used to spy.
A US commission last month also asked lawmakers to consider tighter rules on investment by Chinese state-owned firms, warning they could pose economic as well as security risks.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission also said the world's second-largest economy was likely to look to acquire US companies as it diversifies its more than US$3 trillion (S$3.7 trillion) in foreign reserves.
