国内英语新闻:Chinese investment, a real threat to U.S. national security?

BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United States has repeatedly blocked investment from Chinese companies on national security grounds, a protectionist move that will only harm its own interests, analysts say.

Eight U.S. congressmen recently asked the Obama administration to scrutinize a deal between Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei and the American operator Sprint Nextel on national security grounds.

It was not the first time Huawei's attempts to break into the U.S. market have been stymied. Earlier its buyout attempt of 3Com was summarily dismissed by the U.S. government.

Citing national security concerns again, a bipartisan group of 50 lawmakers in July requested that the government investigate an investment project of China's Anshan Iron and Steel Group (Ansteel), China's fourth largest steelmaker, which plans to establish a joint rebar venture with a U.S. partner in Mississippi.

"It is inappropriate for some U.S. lawmakers to label regular business behavior as a move that threatens national security," Yao Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, recently said about Ansteel's investment plan.

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

Chinese analysts said the actions were sheer protectionism, adding that national security concerns is only a lame excuse by U.S. authorities, whose true intention is to protect the interests of domestic enterprises and industries.

Moreover, standing up to China's allegedly unfair trade practices can easily earn the congressmen much needed political chips in the upcoming mid-term election in November, the analysts said.

The setback that Huawei and Ansteel suffered is only the tip of the iceberg. Actually, blocking investment from Chinese companies in the name of national security has morphed into a knee-jerk reaction that could only harm America's own interests.

Emcore Corporation, a U.S. fiber optics producer, announced in late June that it has abandoned a joint venture in partnership with China's Tangshan Caofeidian Investment Corporation because the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States "has certain regulatory concerns about the transaction."