Economy

China accuses US of protectionism in probe into steel deal

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-20 16:39

BEIJING - A proposed investigation of a Chinese steel-maker's investment plan in the United States has politicized a business deal and is protectionism, Yao Jian, spokesman of Ministry of Commerce, said Tuesday.

Yao was commenting on Anshan Iron and Steel Group's (Ansteel) plan to establish a joint rebar venture with an US partner in Mississippi, but 50 US congressmen have requested that Washington investigate the deal.

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"It is inappropriate for some US lawmakers to label regular business behavior as a move that threatens national security," Yao said.

He urged politicians and industrial communities in the United States not to politicize a regular commercial deal.

"I hope the United States can create a better investment environment for Chinese enterprises," he said.

In a letter to US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner early this month, the congressmen said the proposed join venture threatened "American jobs" and "national security."

Ansteel planned to have a 14-percent stake in the $175-million joint venture with the Steel Development Co. in Amory, Mississippi, which would create jobs and increase tax revenues and local supplies, it said in a statement on July 7.