Recent evolution of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment: Sino-European economic relationship through the investment policies.

Abstract

Foreign direct investments constitute a very important source of external financing for the countries of the world and are catalysts for economic development. The literature presents several theories on the determinants that can influence FDI in different countries. After a careful analysis of trends and forecasts of foreign direct investments on a global level, we will consider the case of China, the country that receives the largest amount of foreign direct investments in Asia. We will try to understand what the investment prospects to and from China are and compare sometimes conflicting opinions. The investment relationship on which we will focus the most will be the one between China and Europe and through this, it will be possible to see how, even in front of the same data, there may be heterogeneous interpretations, bringing out completely different future scenarios. It will be possible to discover how investments will no longer be evaluated solely in terms of financial risk, but also according to their content and how this is declined. A fundamental role is also played by the geopolitical tensions of countries. In order to outline the characteristics of investment relations between Europe and China and to discover what the future developments will be in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, a qualitative research method will be used, through interviews and case studies with companies involved in the phenomenon. The results will be partial, but to be taken into account for subsequent developments.