Suing President Obama Sany Fights for Dignity

At 9:30 on October 18, 2012, journalists representing over one hundred media from in and outside China were waiting in the Westin Hotel in Beijing for disclosure of information regarding investment in the US of a wind farm project by an affiliated company of China-based Sany Group. Ralls, the US-based company affiliated to Sany Group, was ordered to divest its interests in the project on security grounds. On October 1, Ralls submitted the lawsuit to the US district court for the District of Columbia and sued President Obama and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. The case will be heard on November 28.

Many believe that chances for Sany to win the case are slim. However, Mr. Wenbo Xiang, director of Sany Group said at the press conference on October 18 that “dignity weighs more than money” and that “the process is more important than the result.”
Recently, the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee issued a report alleging that Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese high-tech companies, posed a possible threat to US national security.

As part of multiple “state security” related trade and economic cases initiated by the US government, the Sany case marks a new era in which Chinese companies protecting their interests in overseas markets through legal means.