In the midst of the crisis that has been troubling the world economy for five years now, it is comforting to remember that the fundamental determinants of growth – technical progress and open trade – continue to be positive. And, as far as the world's two largest economies are concerned – America and China – the news on this second front is also good. Despite the renewed widening of the bilateral trade deficit - China has a large surplus with America and a trade deficit with the rest of the world - the potential frictions have little opportunity to manifest themselves. The reason lies in the fact that the recycling of the Chinese surplus with the US is assuming more positive forms than the purchase of US public bonds: more precisely, it is assuming the form of direct Chinese investments in America, which reinforces an interpenetration which concerns not only the flows of goods but also the exchange of technologies and managerial know-how. Added to this is President Obama's directive to increase by 40% this year the visas offered to the Chinese, which mainly concern professional positions.
The numbers of Chinese FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in America are still small, but this year it is starting to set a record, surpassing the approximately 6 billion dollars of last year. There are 33 projects approved so far (in the first half of the year), of which 12 are acquisitions and 21 are the construction of new factories, with the consequent creation of jobs. And the prospects are growing, given the essential complementarity of the two economies.
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