Fivefold surge in Americans on Chinese firms' payrolls, US study shows

The number of Americans on Chinese company payrolls has surged more than fivefold over the past five years along with growing foreign direct investment by China in the United States, a study by two US-based organisations has found.

The report - released this month by non-profit group, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and economic think tank Rhodium Group - highlighted the expansion of Chinese firms in various American congressional districts.

Observers said this underscored the growing interdependency between Beijing and Washington despite their strained bilateral relations.

The report, titled "New Neighbours: Chinese Investment in the United States by Congressional District", showed Chinese firms had invested US$46 billion in new establishments and acquisitions in the US since 2000.

Considering only full-time jobs, it said Chinese firms now provided more than 80,000 direct jobs in the US.

"While this is still modest compared with the total number of jobs provided by foreign firms, it is significant growth from less than 15,000 jobs five years ago," the report said. "Fears that Chinese acquirers could systematically move acquired assets and related jobs back to China have not materialised."