While these concerns may sound daunting, they should not overshadow the considerable value of increased commercial exchange between the United States and China. Greater collaboration between the world’s two largest economies could bring better lives to vast numbers of people. While hundreds of millions of Chinese have moved out of poverty thanks to foreign capital, Americans also stand to benefit from growing investment from China. For each story covering the opening of a new Chinese-owned Silicon Valley research center, there are also instances of blighted post-industrial towns being revitalized by the arrival of Chinese factories that put rural Alabamians back to work. Creating virtuous cycles of mutually beneficial trade and investment will not only benefit these two countries, but will also be an important supporter of global prosperity. Moreover, the more interdependent the United States and China are, and the more contact and exchange that takes place, the less likely the two geopolitical rivals are to come to blows. U.S.-Chinese commercial collaboration can help bring both peace and prosperity.

A properly negotiated Bilateral Investment Treaty has the potential to help achieve these goals. However, the formal language and scope of such a treaty is not sufficient to achieve U.S. objectives. U.S. policy makers should not only seek expanded opening of Chinese markets to American firms, but also shape incentives and provide support for Chinese firms to continue investing and acting responsibly in American markets. Strategies to do so should include:

· Negotiating a model bilateral investment treaty, particularly one that delivers reciprocal levels of market access to American firms that match what the United States provides to Chinese firms.

· Ensuring that the BIT does not compromise CFIUS’ ability to review Chinese investments that might involve national-security concerns.

· Establishing criteria for identifying new projects for review, particularly those associated with EB-5 visa applications, to ensure their status as robust and viable investments.

· Charging the Department of Commerce with developing an investor-education strategy, potentially through American consulates in China, to make the U.S. marketplace more approachable to small businesses and Chinese entrepreneurs.

With these support strategies, greater and more successful private Chinese investment in the United States will pay dividends for both countries—financially and politically. We should be ready to welcome Chinese investment as it grows to European levels, while remembering to review its origins from an enduringly statist system of politics. Expanding global prosperity and deepening Sino-American peace may well depend on it.

James “Harry” Krejsa is a researcher with the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the Institute for National Strategic Studies. He served as a Fulbright Fellow in Taiwan and worked as a consultant to government agencies including the State Department, the Department of Energy, and USAID. The views expressed are his own and may not reflect those of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

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