The upcoming construction of a manufacturing plant along the James River banks near Richmond, Virginia, represents the growing number of Chinese companies building production facilities in the United States that could legally claim the use of the branding tag of "Made in the U.S."

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The soon-to-rise factory will use agricultural waste such as straw and corn stalks to manufacture a range of consumer products such as organic fertilizer, napkins and tissue. Once the Shandong Tranlin Paper plant operates by 2020, it is expected to create 2,000 jobs, reports NBC.

The flow of money as foreign direct investment in the U.S. from China is on its third year of continuous growth. In 2014, it reached US$12 billion, up from 2013's US$10 billion, according to the Rhodium Group which monitors Chinese money inflow to the United States.

The building of factories is a new approach to Chinese investment in the U.S., unlike in the past when it was done mostly through buy-ins and mergers such as the $4.72-billion acquisition of the Shuanghui Group, a meat producer in China, of American food manufacturer Smithfield Foods.

Besides Chinese companies, Japanese firms have also invested in the U.S. to avoid tariff imposed on manufactured goods exported to the U.S. Aside from avoiding the tariffs, having the right to use the branding "Made in the U.S." gives the manufacturer more commercial clout and avoids being lumped with "Made in China" goods perceived as low-cost and sometimes poor in quality as well.

The drive toward the U.S., however, has some cynics question the motives of Chinese firms for fear that it would just learn modern technology and in the end beat American manufacturers in their own soil.

The victory over the U.S. also holds true for direct foreign investments to China, which reached US$128 billion in 2014, dislodging the U.S. from the top spot with only US$86 billion, according to the UN Conference of Trade and Development, reports BBC.

TagsMade in China, Made in America, Manufacturing, factory