ABSTRACT

Since its “open door” policy in the late 1970s, both inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) and overseas foreign direct investment (OFDI) in and from China have contributed to the country’s economic growth and position in the world economic order. Respectively, investments in and from China are mainly driven by foreign multinational companies (MNCs), fi rst in China’s coastal cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou), then slowly moving to inland provinces (Hubei, Sichuan, Hunan) as well as through Chinese MNCs in the wider world. Following the “go out” policy since the late 1990s, China’s OFDI is channelled through Chinese companies which operate in various sectors particularly in Africa, Southeast Asian countries and Latin America. Chinese companies’ interests in these regions contribute to promoting China’s economic development and fall more and more under the south-south cooperation framework, which brings together emerging economies and the developing world. Such internationalization of Chinese MNCs shapes the characteristics of foreign investments and world markets.