China's FDI reaches record high of $139b

China's foreign direct investment reached historical high of $139 billion in 2018, according to World Investment Report 2019.

According to the latest World Investment Report 2019 released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), despite the slide in global foreign direct investment, China's FDI in 2018 rose to $139 billion from $134 billion in 2017. The increase made China the second-largest destination for FDI after the United States, accounting for over 10 percent of the total FDI globally.

"In the beginning of 2019, China announced the new Foreign Investment Law and established a negative list with pre-establishment national treatment," Zhan Xiaoning, an official in charge of investment and enterprises at UNCTAD, said. "The country has also announced a number of policies to facilitate investment and further open up the market. Such measures will further stimulate the FDI flows."

The global FDI dropped by 13 percent in 2018 to $1.3 trillion--the third consecutive annual decline, according to the report.

"FDI continues to be trapped, confined to post-crisis lows. This does not bode well for the international community's promise to tackle urgent global challenges, such as abject poverty and the climate crisis," UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said."Geopolitics and trade tensions risk continuing to weigh on FDI in 2019 and beyond."