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China overtook the United States as the world’s top destination for new foreign direct investment last year, as the Covid-19 pandemic amplifies an eastward shift in the center of gravity of the global economy.
New investment by foreign firms in the United States, which for decades held the top spot, fell 49% in 2020, according to UN figures released on Sunday, as the country struggled to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and that economic production was collapsing.
China, long ranked No. 2, has seen direct investment by foreign companies soar 4%, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said. Beijing has used strict lockdowns to largely contain Covid-19 after the disease first emerged in a city in central China, and China’s gross domestic product has increased even as most others big economies were contracting last year.
Investment figures for 2020 highlight China’s shift to the center of a global economy long dominated by the United States – a shift accelerated during the pandemic as China consolidated its position as a global factory and expanded its share of the world. International trade.
While China attracted more new inflows last year, the total stock of foreign investment in the United States remains much larger, reflecting the decades it has spent as the most attractive destination for foreign companies. looking to expand outside of their home markets.
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