From the Financial Times (link)
Addressing students in Beijing this week, Jim Owens, the chief executive of Caterpillar, the US construction equipment giant, exhorted Washington to drop its protectionist rhetoric and focus on engaging China positively.
Elsewhere during his visit, though, Mr Owens might have privately carried a similar message in support of open markets to local officials – in an effort to help Caterpillar overcome obstacles facing its expansion in China.
Caterpillar’s attempted takeover of a state-owned machinery business in Xiamen has been held up because of disagreements over control of the local company, a problem now dogging a large number of proposed foreign buyouts.
