US High-Tech Industry Executives Looking To Invest In China
BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- China is becoming increasingly attractive as a location for investment, thanks to its low costs and the growing liberalization of its economy, U.S. high-tech industry executives said Wednesday.
The executives, visiting China as part of a delegation organized by the American Electronics Association, said they were greatly reassured by the government's commitment to implementing its agreement with the World Trade Organization.
"We heard from the key members of the government what seemed to be real commitment to implement the WTO agreement," said Tom Edman, president and chief executive officer of Applied Films Corp. (AFCO).
"The government clearly is interested in high tech and in high-tech investment in China ," he said. WTO membership will lead to the repeal of some restrictions on foreign investors, such as requiring their products to have a certain amount of local content, which will further encourage new investment, he said.
"As an investor, the comfort level is much higher with what is happening in China than it was 20 years ago in Hong Kong or Taiwan ," said Richard Dadamo, chairman of DPAC Technologies Corp. (DPAC).
The executives played down concerns about China 's poor enforcement of intellectual property rights, which has led to rampant piracy and industrial espionage.
"There was a lot of discussion about how much work has been put into changing the law. The next question is, how do we go about enforcing these changes," said Richard Cook, president and chief executive officer of MAPICS Inc. (MAPX).
Companies with operating experience in China placed much more emphasis on the availability of a low-cost, well-educated labor force - not to mention an enormous domestic market.
"China is becoming a highly competitive environment, with some of the best- trained workers in the world. And consequently, global companies are investing heavily because they need that trained labor," said Robert Bigony, senior vice president of Motorola Inc. (MOT), which is one of China 's largest foreign investors.
"How are you going to be able to compete on a global basis if you don't have a fair share of this market? You're just not going to be able to do it," he said.
"I'm leaving with a very positive feeling," said Michael Jalbert, chairman and chief executive officer of Transcrypt International Inc. (TRII). "The exposure I got from people doing business here made me feel quite confident that we could come here and do something." |
