Chinese investment in the US tech sector could bring more opportunities than threats and should be viewed from the right perspective, said a US private equity PE investment fund.

Policymakers may bemoan Chinese investment in US companies, but those same investments can provide access and acceleration for small- and medium-sized firms to gain a foothold in the largest, fastest-growing electronics market on earth, according to Ray Bingham, co-founder and partner at Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, a California-based PE fund investing in the tech sector.

The firm made headlines last year with a failed attempt to buy US semiconductor maker Lattice Semiconductor. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) believed the deal might compromise national security.

Similarly in January, the US government blocked Alibaba's financial arm's purchase of US money transfer platform MoneyGram. Huawei's cooperation with AT&T's deal also fell through last year.

Canyon Bridge successfully bought UK graphic processor maker Imagination Technologies Group last November. Bingham said the reaction in Europe has been very different than the reaction in Washington as European officials saw the investment as a good thing that could strengthen UK technology jobs and infrastructure.

Chinese appliance and electronics maker Haier bought its US counterpart GE Appliances for $5.4 billion in a deal sealed in 2016. Reuters Photo

"We not only bring money, but also help build businesses with our networks all over the world to help companies expand into new markets," he pointed out.

As a veteran in the semiconductor business, Bingham was impressed with the rapid growth of the industry in China.

"When I came into this business, the semiconductor was just being developed, and now there are many foundries and chip factories in China that are producing very advanced semiconductors. Nobody could have seen that 20 years ago," he said.

"Allowing the right kind of foreign investment can help Western companies become players in this exploding market, continue to compete and reap dividends from China's vast innovation ecosystem. But ultimately it's up to policymakers to make smart decisions that allow a constructive flow of capital and keep the economic engine primed," he added.