US federal government creates "select America" project office to attract investment

The United States has opened an era of active investment promotion at the federal government level.

On June 15, 2011, Obama signed an executive order to create the "select USA" program office. The federal investment promotion project office, which is across 23 ministries and directly under the Ministry of Commerce, is led by the then Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. It aims to promote the expansion of investment in the United States by enterprises from all over the world and the United States, create a good employment environment for the United States, and place President Obama's hope for economic recovery and investment growth.
Before the founding of "choose America", American States had their own investment promotion offices, and the commercial offices of embassies and consulates at the federal government level also had the task of investment promotion. "Choose the United States" is an investment promotion agency led by the U.S. Department of commerce across 23 ministries, similar to China's national investment promotion agency. Therefore, some commentators say that the United States has opened an era of active investment promotion by the state (that is, at the federal government level).
A few days ago, Barry Johnson, executive director of "choose America", was interviewed by our reporter in Shanghai. This is his second visit to China since he took office for half a year. "At this stage, the" choose America "visits around the world are aimed at bringing news that the United States is open to business and encouraging investment from other countries," he said
Although the office has only 12 employees, the U.S. government is trying to promote its good posture of opening the door and introducing capital by using its investment network all over the world.
Unlike other officials, Barry Johnson used to be a businessman, working for Disney, Bertelsmann and Sony Music. He joined the Obama administration two years ago and served as one of the U.S. government representatives at the organization for economic cooperation and development in Paris. Perhaps because of this, "choose America" under his leadership has gradually shown a pragmatic work style.
China is the first stop
21st century: since the establishment of the "choose America" project team in June, the first country you and other colleagues visit is China, and you have come to China many times in recent months. Why do you come to China so frequently to attract investment?
Johnson: our work focuses on both domestic and foreign companies. We not only help enterprises start their investment, but also help them expand their capital and grow up afterwards.
This is my second visit to China since I was appointed director of the "choose America" program on June 15. In the first two months, my goal is to build mutual trust with the enterprises here, and then help them enter the international market.
China is indeed our first stop and one of the most important sources of investment in the world. When it comes to investment, in the 21st century, it is very important to create business cooperation and job opportunities among the production sectors of an economy. The high-quality services provided by high-tech and high value-added industries are of great value to the international market.
21st century: what are the gains of this visit to China?
Johnson: the best achievement this time is to bring us the news of opening up to business and encouraging investment from other countries, including China. We know very well that some people don't really know the significance of opening the door to overseas investment in the United States. We were asked questions like "is America really open to business?" and so on. People may still think about their future investment direction based on some previous trading experience.
Therefore, one of our missions is to bring information that is open to business. We want to tell investors in other countries that we treat their investments as well as the investments of domestic enterprises in the United States, and give fair treatment to the acquisition and protection of resources.
21st century: with the establishment of "choose the United States", the pace of the United States to attract high-quality investment around the world has gradually accelerated, which has also changed the original economic and trade investment relationship between the United States and the rest of the world. At present, do you have a clear plan and geographical distribution for "choosing America" to attract investment in the world?
Johnson: our projects cover a very wide range, not only emerging markets, but also established developed countries. Both economies are important. Emerging market countries represent emerging investment opportunities. Developed economies can not only create new business opportunities, but also create many investment opportunities in the field of business expansion.
While visiting China, we have also signed cooperation agreements with India, Brazil and Russia. In addition, we also visited some big European countries, such as Britain, France, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Spain, etc.