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…should Chinese investors take the initiative to do what the federal government isn’t, their funding could manifest in several ways.
The idea that Chinese investors may put their dollars into America’s crumbling infrastructure found a second wind April 14, when Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Bejing that his department would welcome Chinese investments. With Congress moving in slow motion to repair critical transportation assets such as locks and dams, some in the soybean industry such as Iowa Soybean Association CEO Kirk Leeds have discussed the possibility of another source of funding to ensure hassle-free shipment of grains to foreign markets.
The Water Resources Development Act or WRDA bill is out of committee in the Senate and yet to be unveiled in the House. The last WRDA bill passed in 2007, and since that time, the issue of federal funding for waterway maintenance has taken a backseat to other more politically urgent issues Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says that, should Chinese investors take the initiative to do what the federal government isn’t, their funding could manifest in several ways.
Traditionally, China is considered a communist country, despite the fact that it refers to its own economy as a “socialist market economy,” while American analysts often dub it “state capitalism:” a system in which the central government acts as a representative capitalist abroad. As a “communist” social order by definition does not have a state, China’s rapid growth is a movement away from its past. But as Iowa Soybean Association Director of Marketing Grant Kimberley explains, the foundation for its mindset is not a recent development.
Kerry is not the first member of the administration to entertain the idea of China investing in America’s infrastructure. In January of 2011, President Obama met with then-President Hu Jintao, with foreign investment in the US as one of the key topics. The Wall Street Journal indicated that the talks also included Chinese businessmen, who were interested in US infrastructure investments in particular.
