Annual FDI outflows from China 2011-2021

According to preliminary data, the value of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from China amounted to approximately 145.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. Chinese outward FDI flows ranked fourth in the world that year, while global FDI flows rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Development of Chinese FDI flows

The sharp decline in FDI outflows since 2016 was mainly the result of stricter regulation measures taken by the Chinese government to control capital flows. Growing security concerns in foreign countries also had a dampening effect on FDI flows from China. These developments had a large influence on the investments of Chinese state-owned enterprises, which dropped to only about ten percent of the total Chinese FDI inflows for the United States and European Union, down from much higher levels in the past. Despite the sharp decline in FDI flows, the capital stock of Chinese FDI abroad grew decisively in recent years and reached nearly two trillion U.S. dollars in 2018.

Regional and sectoral distribution of FDI from China

Major recipients of Chinese FDI are Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore, and Australia. Hong Kong absorbs by far the largest amount of FDI from China and plays a special role given its combined status as international financial hub and Chinese special administrative area, distributing most of China's invested capital to regions all over the world. A sectoral breakdown of Chinese FDI flows reveals that investments in leasing and business services, financial services, and manufacturing were most favored by Chinese investors.