China received more foreign investment last year than the United States, UN says

China’s economy attracted more foreign direct investment than any other country last year, knocking the United States off its perch at the top of the list.

China reported $ 163 billion in flows last year, compared to $ 134 billion attracted to the United States, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development wrote in a report on Sunday. In 2019, the United States received $ 251 billion in admissions and China $ 140 billion.

Overall, the report found that foreign direct investment has fallen globally, as the Covid-19 pandemic has brought countries large and small to near stagnation.

FDI plunged 42% in 2020, to $ 859 billion, a drop of 30% even in the depths of the 2009 financial crisis. Economic measurement takes into account investments in a country made by people and businesses. other countries, such as building a factory or opening a satellite office.

Developed countries were hit harder last year than so-called “developing” countries. Investment in the United States fell 49%, slightly less than the developed country average of 69%.

FDI in developing countries fell by 12% comparatively moderately. China, on this list, actually saw a slight increase of 4% in its admissions.

The European Union has seen FDI fall by two-thirds, according to the report, with the UK not seeing any new inflows. The United Kingdom has been particularly affected by the coronavirus.

China was able to largely bring the coronavirus under control within its borders last year, despite being the first nation to be affected by the deadly disease.

Strict lockdown measures, early mass testing and an abundance of personal protective equipment have been credited for the country’s relatively low death toll.

Since the start of the pandemic, China has recorded fewer than 100,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and suffered around 4,800 deaths from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States, which has a much smaller population, has recorded nearly 25 million cases and more than 400,000 deaths.

Although China has overtaken the United States in terms of foreign direct investment flow in 2020, the total stock of foreign investment remains much larger in the United States than in China, according to data compiled by the Organization. for economic cooperation and development.

Other economic data also suggests that China has borne the brunt of the pandemic more flexibly than its peers. Beijing announced 2020 GDP growth of 2.3% earlier this month and is expected to be the only major economy to show a positive annual growth rate.

The United Nations report comes a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum. President Joe Biden is not expected to attend the event.