DWN: Chinese investors are fleeing from the West

Chinese investors are investing less and less money in Western countries, according to Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten. They are deterred by growing restrictions, high costs, escalating xenophobia, as well as other factors of uncertainty, in particular high electricity prices and a shortage of personnel. Investors from the Middle Kingdom prefer to give the released funds to the countries of the so-called global South. With this strategy, Beijing pursues not economic, but rather geopolitical interests, explains the German edition.

In 2016, China's foreign investments amounted to $200 billion, writes Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten. But by 2022, this value has decreased by 25%, reaching $146.5 billion. And analysts believe that this trend will continue, provided that Chinese President Xi Jinping continues his course. But the reduction in investment is not uniform. The fact is that Beijing has begun to invest significantly less money in Western countries, and on the contrary, it invests more in the states of the so-called global South.

Chinese investors are fleeing from the West, the German edition continues. They are deterred by growing restrictions, high costs and other uncertainties, in particular high electricity prices and a shortage of personnel, as, for example, in Germany. In addition, the exodus of investors from China is explained by the aggravation of sinophobia. For example, the US authorities are going to restrict investment opportunities in Chinese companies related to the high-tech and military sectors. This step in Washington is explained by the protection of national security.

Usually, foreign investments help create jobs, give start-up companies the capital they need and ultimately lead to economic growth in the country, explains Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten. Accordingly, the withdrawal of Chinese investors will deprive Western states of all these advantages. And in the short term, small economies, for example, in Australia, Canada and Hungary, will suffer the most from this.

But the West, apparently, does not take what is happening seriously. On the contrary, the United States and Europe are pursuing a purposeful policy to reduce Chinese influence, thus driving themselves into isolation, and in the long term, perhaps even a new resource dependence on China and the global South. Western countries will simply not have enough capital to launch startups. The withdrawal of investors from the Celestial Empire will deprive the countries on the periphery of Europe of a base for economic growth, and then this trend may spread to Germany and France.
At the same time, by investing money in the states of Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, Beijing pursues not economic, but rather geopolitical interests, the publication explains. With their help, he wants to retain his superiority in certain sectors of industry, in particular in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and technologies for the extraction of renewable energy sources. In the global South, China is primarily attracted to fast-growing markets with a large number of resources. The West is also trying to gain a foothold in these regions. And in the short term, attempts to charm potential partners, as well as the policy of restrictions, can provide Washington and Brussels with certain advantages, but it is only a matter of time when, as Chinese influence grows, countries such as Brazil and Indonesia will switch to the side of the Celestial Empire, Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten concludes.

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