In a room somewhere in Washington, DC, in late 2010, Gao Xiqing, president and chief investment officer of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), China's huge sovereign wealth fund, sat facing mayors from the US cities of Orlando, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver. The purpose of the meeting was simple: the mayors were pitching for investment in their local infrastructure; Mr Gao was looking for a profitable home for CIC funds.
The meeting had been brokered by US think tank The Brookings Institute, and was also attended by a representative from the federal government and one or two investment bankers. When Mr Gao told the gathered few that the US had a “socialist infrastructure”, the irony was not lost on his audience. Neither was the slight; this was not intended as a compliment.
