COLUMBIA, the United States, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of South Carolina benefits a lot from foreign investment and is expecting to attract more Chinese businesses, a local commerce official has said.

"Better jobs, tax revenues and cultural understanding among different nations are major benefits from foreign investment," said Nelson Lindsay, director of Global Business Development at the South Carolina Department of Commerce, in an interview with Xinhua.

Located in the southeastern region of the United States, South Carolina is strong in the aerospace, automotive, manufacturing and technology industries.

For years, the state has made efforts to make itself a fit for foreign investment with a friendly investment climate as well as access to markets and work force talent.

Plants of BMW, Michelin, Fuji and other manufacturing companies are spreading all over the region, promoting local economic development. The past decade has witnessed a growing number of Chinese companies.

"Based on a number of projects that we're seeing from China, from the number of jobs associated with those projects and the size of them, we do anticipate more projects from China," said Lindsay.

The presence of Chinese companies in South Carolina dates back to almost 20 years ago. In 1999, Qingdao-based refrigerator manufacturer Haier announced an investment plan of 40 million U.S. dollars, becoming the first Chinese enterprise to enter the state.

"We got a lot of positive publicity at the time because it was unheard of. At the time, American companies were going to China, not the other way, so it was very much against what the trend was at the time," Lindsay said, adding that the state has made extra efforts to attract more Chinese investors.

"We've actually increased our emphasis in China in 2015 to include both a team in China and a project manager here (in South Carolina)," he said.

In 2016, fiberglass giant China Jushi announced an investment of 300 million dollars for a plant in the state, which is expected to bring 400 new jobs.

With over 1.3 billion dollars in capital investment, Chinese manufacturers have created about 4,000 new jobs since 2011, according to the latest figures from the state's commerce department.