AnewlightrailtrainarrivesfromAbujatotheairportstationinNigeriaonJuly12.TheprojectwashandledbytheChinaCivilEngineeringConstructionCorporationandpartlyfundedbytheExport-ImportBankofChinaXINHUAInAugust,theMinistryofCommerce(MOFCOM)releaseddataonChina鈥檚nonfinancialoutbounddirectinvestment(ODI),whichcontinuedsteadygrowthinthefirstsevenmonthsoftheyear.
FromJanuarytoJuly,Chineseinvestorsmade$65.27billionofnon-financialODIinnearly4,000overseasenterprisesin152countriesandregions,markinga14.1-per-centincreasefromthesameperiodayearago.
BaiMing,aseniorresearchfellowattheChineseAcademyofInternationalTradeandEconomicCooperation,toldBeijingReviewthatChinesecompanies鈥檌nvestmentsabroadinthefirstsevenmonthsoftheyearsawaconsiderableincrease,thoughstillnotreachingthehighestlevels.
鈥淭oagreatextent,wecanseeitasrestorativegrowth,鈥滲aisaid.
Newfeatures
AministryindexthatmeasuresODIactivityeachmonthshowedthatitremainedstableat192.93inJuly,comparedwiththepeakof205.3andlowof189.6registeredwithinthefirstsevenmonthsoftheyear.
Besidessoundgrowthmomentum,China鈥檚ODIshowedseveralnewfeaturesandtrends.Chinesecompaniesincreasedinvestmentin54countriesalongtheChina-proposedSilkRoadEconomicBeltand21st-CenturyMaritimeSilkRoad.The$8.55-billionaddedinvestmentrepresentedan11.8-percentyear-on-yearincrease,withnewconstructioncontractsalongtheBeltandRoadworth$57.11billion.
Inaddition,overseaseconomicandtradecooperationzonesplayedamajorroleinChina鈥檚ODI.AccordingtoMOFCOM,bytheendofJune,Chinahadbuilt113overseaseconomicandtradecooperationzonesinatotalof46countries.
AlongtheBeltandRoadroutes,Chinaestablished82overseaseconomicandtradecooperationzonesin24countries,withanaccumulatedinvestmentof$2.59billionfromJanuarytoJune,accountingfor87percentofChina鈥檚newinvestmentinoverseaseconomicandtradecooperationzonesworldwide.Intotalthezonescreated$3billionworthoftaxrevenueforthesecountries,facilitatingcommondevelopmentforChinaandhostcountries.
Infact,thetradeandinvestmenttiesbetweenChinaandthesecountrieshavebeenexpandingsincethelaunchoftheBeltandRoadInitiativein2013.Duringthisperiod,economicandtradezoneshaveattractednearly4,000enterprises,creating$2billionworthoftaxrevenueforthesecountriesandproviding244,000localjobs,accordingtoMOFCOMdata.
StructuralimprovementofoutboundinvestmentcontributedtotheODI鈥檚continuedstablegrowth.Chinesecontractorssignedmoreagreementsforlargeprojectsabroadinthefirstsevenmonthsoftheyear.Transport,powerandconstructionprojectsaccountedfor68.2percentofthetotalcontractvalue,andmorethan85percentofnewprojects鈥檆ontractvaluesurpassed$50million.
Meanwhile,nonewprojectswerereportedinsectorssuchaspropertydevelopment,sportsandentertainment,sincetheChineseGovernmentmadestrongeffortstopromotesoundgrowthofoverseasinvestmentbyforestallingrisks.
OnAugust18,2017,theStateCouncilreleasedaguideline,makingitclearthatoverseasinvestmentthatwentagainstpeacefuldevelopment,win-wincooperationandChina鈥檚macrocontrolpolicieswouldberestricted.Thoseonthelistincludedrealestate,hotels,entertainment,sportclubsandoutdatedindustries.
ThedocumentstipulatesthatenterprisesshouldtaketheleadinexportingChina鈥檚superiortechnologyandequipment,upgradingthenation鈥檚researchandmanufacturingabilityandmakinguptheshortageofenergyandresourcesthroughprudentcooperationinoil,gasandotherresources.
鈥淯ndoubtedly,Chinesecompanies鈥檊oing-globalstrategyhasbeenasuccess,butproblemshavealsoemerged,suchasbogusinvestmentsandignoranceininvestment,鈥滲aisaid,addingthathebelievedthattheguidelinehaseffectivelyledoverseasinvestmenttowardamorerationaldirection.
Challengesandexpectations
Despitesoundmomentum,Chinesecompaniesstillfacechallengeswhengoingabroad,especiallyastradeprotectionismisontheriseinsomecountries.
IntheUnitedStatesforexample,recentregulationssuchastheForeignInvestmentRiskReviewModernizationActsignedbyPresidentDonaldTrumponAugust13,aswellastheexpandingpowerandscopeoftheCommitteeonForeignInvestmentareposingchallenges.Inrecentyears,manyChineseinvestmentprojectswererejectedbytheUnitedStates.
Insomedevelopingcountries,ontheotherhand,factorssuchasincompleteinstitutions,weakinfrastructure,unstablepoliticallandscapesandchaoscausedbywaralsohinderChineseinvestmentandexposeinvestorstohighrisks.
Atthesametime,Chinesecompaniesalsohaveroomforimprovement,assomeofthemjumpontheinvestmentbandwagonwithoutanunderstandingoflawsandregulationsorcultureandconventioninhostcountries,causingconflictwithlocalpeople.
鈥淭heso-called鈥楥hinathreattheory鈥檃nd鈥楥hinesecolonialism鈥檃dvocatedbysomeWesterncountriesprovokedissension,too,鈥滲aitoldBeijingReview.
HesuggestedthatChinesecompaniesconductthoroughresearchoncountriesandlocalpartnersbeforemakinganinvestment.Whenprojectsarelaunched,investorsshouldbearinmindsocialresponsibilitiesandreducemisunderstandingsasmuchaspossible.
Inthissense,overseaseconomicandtradecooperationzoneshaveshowngoodperformanceinrecentyears.Inspiteofanunsatisfactoryinternationalenvironment,suchzonescanbeasafehavensincetheyarelesssusceptibletooutsideinfluence.
鈥淚nthepast,goingglobalwaslimitedtoindividualcompanies,whilenowithasexpandedtoindustrialchains,鈥滲aisaid,addingthatChinesecompaniesbelongingtothesameindustrialchainwithsimilardemandcanjoinhandsintheiroverseasexpansionandcommunicatesmoothlywithlocalpartners.
BaiconcludedthatalthoughChineseinvestorswillfaceincreasingdifficultiesinWesterncountries,heexpectsthatwiththeconclusionofthe2018BeijingSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation,investmentincountriesalongtheBeltandRoadroutes,especiallyontheAfricancontinent,willincreaseandthatthegovernmentwillintroducemorepoliciestoregulateandencourageoutboundinvestment.
AtechniciantestsanantennaproducedbyChina鈥檚telecomequipmentproducerHuaweiforabasestationinKajaani,Finland,onMay12,2016XINHUACopyeditedbyRebecaToledoCommentsto