China's Angang says US investment will bring jobs

A planned investment in the United States by China's Anshan Iron & Steel Group, which has concerned some US politicians, will create jobs and be good for the economy, the company's president was quoted as saying.

Zhang Xiaogang told the magazine Economic and Nation Weekly, run by China's official Xinhua news agency, that the deal should not be politicised as it was a purely business decision.

The state-owned group, the parent of Angang Steel Co, has agreed to pay $175 million for less than a 20 percent stake in a rebar plant that Steel Development Co, a US start-up, is building in Mississippi.

A bipartisan group of 50 US lawmakers called last month for an investigation, expressing deep concern that the investment threatened US jobs and national security.

Zhang said the investment was only for a 14% stake in Steel Development Co, which was relatively small.

"The investment is a purely commercial decision, and we hope it is not politicised," he said. "We make investment decisions in the United States and other regions based on market demand.

"The newly constructed plant will increase employment opportunities in the area, promote economic development and increase tax income," Zhang added.

The United States, as the largest economy in the world, was an ideal place for such long-term investments, he said.

The company has received no formal notification that the US government plans to investigate the deal, Zhang added.

The interview was posted on Xinhua's website on Sunday.

The Chinese commerce ministry has already branded the US lawmakers protectionist for seeking to block the investment by China's fourth-largest steel maker on national security grounds.

US steel companies have complained loudly about unfair competition from China and have won a number of US anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel goods.

The United States blocks few foreign investments. But last year, a Chinese mining company backed out of a deal to invest in a Nevada gold mine after a US government review raised security concerns.

The mine was about 100km (60 miles) from a base the US Navy uses to train its pilots.