Well said, Alan.
You didn't mention, however, all the so-called "free traders" in Congress who
are most bent out of shape by this (CNOOC) ... I guess "free trade" is supposed
to be a one-way propositon.
Now, about that Chinese general who wants to nuke us ...
bs
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Bob Spidell San Jose, CA bspidell@comcast.net
'67 Austin-Healey 3000 '56 Austin-Healey 100M
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Subject: Re: Not Healey but LBC - trash if not interested in non-healey content
> James / fellow Americans -
>
> Before everyone gets on the "bash China" bandwagon like the rest of
> America seems to be regarding CNOOC's bid for Union Oil, (and whatever
> else the Chinese are interested in buying like MG-Rover), I have an
> interesting statistic for you:
>
> In the last 10 years:
>
> 1) The United States has poured over $350 billion in direct investment
> into China
>
> 2) China has put less that $2 billion in direct investment into the
> US. Of this, most of the investment was Lenovo's very recent $1.2
> billion purchase of IBM's laptop business.
>
> My first comment on the Union Oil issue is ... if the US was genuinely
> worried about US strategic interests, they should first worry about
> point #1 above and the fact that China now holds over $100 billion in
> US Treasury Bonds. Union Oil is a pimple in the grand scheme of
> things.
>
> As someone who is old enough to have watched China grow from an
> isolated, militant and sometimes belligerent country to essentially a
> semi-open society (albeit with political restrictions - that being
> said you can say whatever you want in the street... the gov't doesn't
> care as long as you don't publish it in the paper) where... in just 15
> years... it has wholeheartedly embraced capitalism.... it concerns me
> when those of us from the west seem to be so shocked and fearful that
> the "Chinese" want to buy some good businesses in the west.
>
> This is a very good thing my friends. Integrated economies = peaceful
> relations and mutual understanding. Case and point... there is little
> integration between the West and the Middle East (other than buying
> oil from the area, a commodity) and look at the grief we get for this.
>
> My father spent his whole life literally fighting the communists in
> Asia (from 1949 - 1974) for the USA, and he would be the first to tell
> you that if the Chinese want to embrace capitalist ideals and buy a
> few American companies, this is basically what he fought for. In
> addition, I think most Americans wouldn't care if the Germans, or
> Polish, or Greeks for that matter wanted to buy some of these assets,
> but it appears racist to me this issue comes up every time an Asian
> country wants to buy something in the US. Remember the hysteria about
> "Japanese" buying Pebble Beach and half of NYC? Now it seems there's
> the same yellow hysteria about the "Chinese" buying this or that.
>
> I have never hear this concern about people from any European or South
> American Country buying anything in the US.
>
> Please don't take offense at this... this is just the way it looks to me.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Alan
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