"Ours is a relatively small case, but it connects to the fundamental faith of thousands of Chinese investors," Wu said.

Blocking investment from China will hurt the United States more than China, said Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce on Oct 19.

"Such moves will hurt bilateral trade ties. In fact, China's investment to the United States grew the slowest among China's major trade partners in the first nine months of the year," said Shen.

From January to September 2012, Chinese companies' outbound investment to the United States increased by 14.3 percent year-on-year, much lower than the average growth rate of 40 to 50 percent, according to data from the ministry.

"We hope the US judicial departments will handle the lawsuit fairly, justly and publicly," Shen said.

The ministry hopes the US side will refrain from politicizing trade issues and resume business as usual, he said.

Hao Junbo, a claims and litigation expert, said Chinese companies used to back away from international disputes.

"As a lawyer for Chinese companies, I know they would often react passively when their interests were challenged," Hao said.

"Sany is the first, but it will not be the last. Chinese companies are increasingly confident in dealing with legal issues," he said.