For American investors, China can seem a land of limitless possibility - entrepreneurs salivate at the thought of doing business with just a sliver of the population of 1.3 billion.
Judging by a recent spate of initial public offerings, Chinese companies have a similar view of US investors.
So far this year, five Chinese companies have floated offerings worth $645 million in the US, according to Dealogic. Another four, worth $434 million, are on the way.
The biggest splash was made by Chinese Web search engine Baidu.com Inc, which rocketed to five times its IPO price in its August debut, and then fell back sharply.
In light of the lacklustre debut of China Construction Bank, which barely budged in its first two days of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, IPO analysts said Chinese companies will likely continue to pursue US listings.
"If they can do it, they will," said Tom Taulli, an IPO analyst and founder of DealflowSearch.com, Newport Beach, California. "For companies that have American backing, it's almost a requirement that they start to list in the US"
Baidu shares attracted attention for their wild volatility, shooting as high as $153.98 in their second day of trading before a rapid retreat. On Friday they were trading at $70.84 on Nasdaq, off their peak, but well above their $27 IPO price.
Outside of Baidu, the best performer among Chinese listings in the US this year has been billboard advertising company Focus Media Holding Ltd. It was trading at $25.90 on the Nasdaq, well above its $17 offer price.
The worst has been mobile phone handset designer China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. It was trading at $9.20 on Nasdaq, down from a $16.25 IPO price.
This week, two Chinese semiconductor designers, Actions Semiconductor and Vimicro International, filed registration statements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Many of the Chinese companies seeking US listings focus on their domestic market, so they provide investors access to a market where GDP is growing faster than 9 percent a year.
"Their rate of growth is high," said Francis Gaskins, president of IPO Desktop, an independent research firm based in Los Angeles. "A lot about investing is getting in the market segments where the rate of growth is high."
Among the locally focused companies planning US listings are China Hospitals Inc, a hospital operator and e-Future Information Technology Inc, a maker of business software.
While the growth prospects are appealing, analysts warned standards of corporate governance can vary from US norms.
"Minority investors, which would be all American investors, just don't have any leverage to enforce management to act in the best interest of shareholders," said Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida, in Gainesville.
While Chinese companies that list shares on US exchanges must conform to US securities laws, Ritter noted, "you can't, fundamentally, legislate attitudes."
But executive shenanigans are also a risk in US companies, as evidenced by the meltdown of Refco Inc.
US-listed Chinese stocks have performed well this year, with the American Stock Exchange China Index, up 1.8 percent this year, while the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index has declined 1.9 percent.
Given US investors' search for growth and Chinese companies' hunt for funding, the wave may well continue.
"Once you have a breakthrough and have one successful example in any given market, you have an opportunity to pile on and do a hell of a lot more," said M. Benjamin Howe, managing partner at America's Growth Capital, a Boston investment bank.