Wall Street sources said the invitation came Tuesday as a result of Goldman’s extensive business dealings in China, the world’s second-largest economy, and as part of the Obama Administration’s new business outreach campaign following Republican victories in the November elections…

The executive, who had knowledge of the invitation process, said the invitation came from the White House and not at the insistence of the Chinese.
Sources close to the process also noted that the government’s fraud charges were brought by an independent agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, not the Justice Department or other agency directly controlled by the Administration.