China can help fix US crumbling infrastructure

The situation is so dire that US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both pledged to spend more on infrastructure to cater to the public grievances. Clinton has proposed $275 billion in new infrastructure spending over the next five years while Trump vowed to more than double that figure. But no one knows if these politicians are just paying lip service to this issue.

Speaking on Wednesday about the US agenda at the G20 in Hangzhou, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew stressed the need for structural reform. That, according to several experts I talked to, includes investment in infrastructure. One suggested that China and US could find ample room of cooperation in this regard such as through joint financing.

The US remains guarded against Chinese investment in US infrastructure. Back in 2013, the US Chamber of Commerce released a report about the huge mutual benefits of allowing Chinese investment in US infrastructure.

Thomas Petri, a Congressman from Wisconsin's 6th District from 1979 to 2015, wrote in Milwaukee-based paper Journal Sentinel on June 28 aboutChina's impressive infrastructure construction he witnessed.

He lamented that despite the US being the largest recipient of Chinese investment in 2015, very few of the investments went to construction and infrastructure projects. Noting China has infrastructure projects in over 70 countries, Petri sighed at the high barriers to foreign infrastructure investment in the US, as reflected in the Los Angeles/Las Vegas high-speed rail line, a Chinese investment that fell through recently.

The US always touts how open its market is. But in infrastructure, it is blocking and wasting huge win-win opportunities with China.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com