The new US ambassador to China, Gary Locke, has pledged to help Chinese companies and entrepreneurs invest in the US in a bid to aid Barack Obama’s much-discussed job creation plans, according to the China Daily.

“Creating more jobs for Americans is the foremost priority of the Obama administration,” Locke said in Beijing yesterday [20 September] in a speech to US business leaders, in which he announced plans to loosen restrictions on high-technology exports and facilitate travel from China to the US.

China Daily reports that Locke cited understanding tax structures and incentives and other bureaucratic requirements as one of the greatest difficulties faced by Chinese companies in the US.

Wei Jianguo, secretary-general of think tank China Center for International Economic Exchanges, also highlights factors more based in cultural differences, calling the idea that “the two sides should strengthen mutual understanding and promote communications and respect among companies […] very positive”.