Chinese investments abroad will hit US$ 60 billion over 2010 (According to MOFCOM, the Chinese Ministry of commerce), and if you add investments abroad originating from Honk Kong, have even topped US$ 100 billion. In some regions the question arises whether Chinese Investments are not becoming a threat for a balanced economic landscape. The acquisition of a large plot of land near Piraeus, Greece, with the intention to create a China controlled point of entry for Chinese goods into Europe certainly aggravated such concerns.

China is transforming from a cheap production location to an economic world power. In that light it is to be expected that China is looking for further control on the product supply and distribution chain, in the same manner Western and Japanese companies have done in the past. The economic signposts are changing, and an increased Chinese presence overseas is a logical consequence.
If we look at what Chinese companies are investing overseas, we seen a vast majority of the FDI investments is made by “state” companies. In China, every company regarded strategic is de-facto a state company. Private companies are maturing in a rapid pace, but still see major growth opportunities inside China, due to the steady rise of consumer spending there. The state companies are more prone to long term government visions, they tend to invest with a scope of at least 20 years ahead.

With this in mind, it is my opinion that the mere fact that China invests overseas is an economic reality to be expected. If it feels threatening to deal with state controlled (overt or covert) state companies with their vast financial resources, do take into consideration the acquisition channels that have been used to source the companies investing in your region. Given the fact that also privately-owned companies in China are considering overseas investments, try and source these parties to attract them to your region. Do keep in mind that every investment abroad over US$ 1 million requires Chinese Government approval

This is exactly the reason why global-arena.com is working on the ChinaConnect initiative. Together with MOFCOM we aim to create a platform where Chinese companies looking for investments abroad and business locations can meet and select the ideal partner, using our GlobalArenaRank matching technology. we hope to inform you soon on a timeline for first commercial use of ChinaConnect