China mulls US manufacturing fund ahead of Xi-Trump summit, business leader says

China and the US are likely to secure several “very positive” outcomes but not a “grand bargain” at their presidential summit in April, according to the board chief of a major American business lobby.

James Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said on Friday that “the optics [of] announcing deals” such as aircraft and soybean sales might be US President Donald Trump’s main objective for his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing this spring.

Speaking at an event at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney, the Beijing-based lawyer said another issue “still out there” was for China to invest in manufacturing in the United States. He added that China had shown receptiveness to such proposals but would require “protection” in return.

“Apparently there is a discussion about the possibility of Beijing setting up a fund to encourage Chinese investors to make manufacturing investment in the US, and similar to that encouraged of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea,” Zimmerman said.

“You won’t see a grand bargain worked out at the April meeting, but you may see certain deliverables that are very positive,” he said during the talk, adding that the pressure of the US midterm elections in November could contribute to Trump’s eagerness for those outcomes.

His comments came a day after China confirmed that discussions were under way about Trump’s visit.



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ZS2 Expands U.S. Manufacturing Through Supreme Insulated Panel Systems Integration

Strategic manufacturing expansion will strengthen material availability for high-performance construction projects across the U.S.

ZS2 TechPanel® integrates magnesium cement sheathing and insulation into a high-performance panelized system manufactured for climate resilience. Increased U.S. production capacity supports growing demand across North American construction markets. (CNW Group/ZS2 Technologies Ltd.)

CALGARY — ZS2 is expanding its North American manufacturing footprint into the United States through the integration of manufacturing assets from Supreme Insulated Panel Systems LLC, based in Mobile, Alabama. This expansion increases available production capacity for magnesium cement panelized building systems to support growing demand across U.S. and Caribbean construction markets.

Per a Feb. 12 press release, as demand continues to reportedly grow for materials that improve fire performance, durability, and long-term building resilience, expanding manufacturing capacity to meet increasing demand in key Southern and Eastern United States markets helps accelerate adoption of these systems while strengthening domestic access to advanced construction materials.

“Demand for higher-performance building materials is accelerating across North America as the industry responds to climate risk, insurance pressure, and evolving building performance expectations,” said Scott Jenkins, CEO, ZS2 Technologies. “Expanding manufacturing capacity into the United States strengthens the industry’s ability to access advanced building systems at scale and supports long-term material innovation across the built environment.”

Per the press release, Supreme Insulated Panel Systems has served residential and commercial construction markets with energy-efficient insulated panel systems. Their manufacturing background is being combined with ZS2’s magnesium cement technology to try and support broader adoption of higher-performance building envelope systems across U.S. construction markets.

Production capabilities at the Mobile facility are being phased in alongside standard third-party certification and facility qualification processes, with additional listed production capabilities expected to come online as certification pathways are completed later this year.

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