????愛爾蘭的公共財政狀況一度糟糕透頂，兩年前差一點就破產了。但它還是有一、兩件事值得美國學習。這個島國在獲得數十億美元的國際救助資金后，一直在努力實現經濟復蘇，如今正在張開雙臂，歡迎中國投資者。

????上周一，有望出任下屆中國國家主席的習近平結束了對愛爾蘭為期三天的訪問。這也是他此次世界巡訪途中唯一的歐盟（European Union）國家。這次世界巡訪還包括此前訪問的美國以及隨后的土耳其。就在他到訪之后幾天，歐洲持續的債務危機，尤其是希臘財政問題，給整個歐洲銀行業造成了重大損失。

????愛爾蘭希望能成為中國進一步拓展歐洲市場的門戶。相比過去主要是從英美等發達國家尋找潛在投資者，凱爾特之虎如今更看重幾乎沒有債務負累的發展中國家，而中國正是首選。

????“我們進行了非常富有成果的會談，愛爾蘭和中國在投資、教育和商務領域達成了眾多重要的諒解備忘錄，”愛爾蘭總理恩達?肯尼表示。

????言語之間的熱情與肯定與美國形成鮮明對比。上上周，美國官員們在接待習近平的到訪時，顯露出來的是猶豫和不滿，不滿于中國人為壓低匯率，不滿于中國侵犯人權等等，不一而足。美國副總統喬?拜登在美國國務院（State Department）的午宴上祝酒時稱，美國可以和中國展開合作，“但前提是公平競爭”。拜登發出此番言論的同時，隨著美國進入大選年，最近幾個月美國對中國態度的日漸強硬。

????誠然，這樣的擔憂不容忽視，但如此強硬的辭令對鼓勵中國公司投資美國毫無益處。

????“很多中國企業高管和政府官員仍在為幾項對美投資引發的政治爭議和遭遇的監管阻力而感到沮喪，”私募股權公司凱雷投資集團（Carlyle Group）的董事總經理馬鼎文在一份政策備忘錄中寫道。習近平訪問美國前夕，這份政策備忘錄由美國外交協會（Council of Foreign Relations）出版。馬鼎文還說，中國企業高管經常提到中國海洋石油有限公司（Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation）收購加州優尼科石油公司（Unocal Oil Company）失敗的記憶，后者最終于2005年被雪佛龍（Chevron）收購。

????“因此，盡管大多數的中國在美投資交易都獲得了批準，或者無需任何審批，但很多中國企業高管還是認為美國不歡迎中國投資，”馬鼎文寫道。

????不可否認，隨著中國打開經濟大門，近年來這個東亞巨人的對美投資在穩步增長。根據總部位于紐約的經濟研究咨詢公司Rhodium Group提供的初步統計數據，2011年，中國這個全球第二大經濟體向美國投資了約50億美元。研究總監賽羅?哈內曼指出，這一數字與前一年基本持平，可能還略低一些。對美投資持平不一定說明中國人認為美國的吸引力下降了，而是因為對歐投資的步伐在加快。

????Ireland's public finances became so disastrous that it almost went bankrupt less than two years ago. But it still has a thing or two to teach the U.S. As the island nation tries to recover after being rescued with a multi-billion dollar international bailout, Ireland is welcoming Chinese investors.

????On Monday, Xi Jinping, who's expected to be China's next president, ended a three-day visit to Ireland. It was the only European Union country he visited on his world tour, which included a stop in the U.S. last week and continued with a visit to Turkey this week. And his visit came only days before Europe's ongoing debt crisis, in particular Greece's financial woes, drove a slew of heavy losses across the European banking sector.

????Ireland is positioning itself to become China's gateway into doing more business in Europe. Though in the past the Celtic Tiger looked mostly to developed economies including the U.S. and Britain for potential investors, officials are now focusing more on emerging markets that aren't nearly as saddled with debt. And China appears at the top of the list.

????"We had very fruitful discussion in our meeting, and we also concluded a number of important memoranda of understanding between Ireland and China in the areas of investment, education and business," Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said.

????The tone is far different from that of the U.S., where officials greeted Xi's stop last week with hesitation and a list of grievances, ranging from China's artificially depressed currency to human rights abuses. During a toast at a State Department lunch, Vice President Joe Biden declared the U.S. could cooperate with China "only if the game is fair." His remarks come as the U.S. hardened its language toward China in recent months amid an election year.

????Needless to say, such concerns aren't something to ignore, but the rhetoric does little to encourage Chinese companies to pour investments into the U.S.

????"Many Chinese executives and government officials remain frustrated by the political controversy or regulatory resistance engendered by a few investments," wrote David Marchick, a managing director with private equity firm Carlyle Group, in a policy memo published by the Council of Foreign Relations ahead of Xi's U.S. stop. Marchick added that Chinese executives often point to memories of Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation's failed attempt to acquire California-based Unocal Oil Company, which Chevron (CVX) acquired in 2005.

????"Consequently, many Chinese executives believe the United States is unwelcoming of Chinese investment, even though the vast majority of Chinese investments in the United States have either been approved or have not required any approval," he notes.

????To be sure, Chinese investments into the U.S. have steadily risen over the years as the East Asian giant opens its economic doors. In 2011, the world's second-largest economy invested about $5 billion into the U.S., according to preliminary tallies by New York City-based economic research and advisory firm Rhodium Group. Research Director Thilo Hanemann notes that this is about the same level as the previous year, perhaps slightly less. The flat figure doesn't necessarily imply that China views the U.S. as any less attractive, but rather that investments in Europe has carried greater momentum.