China has overtaken the U.S. as the top destination for foreign direct investment for the first time in decades.
New investments by foreign businesses into the U.S. fell 49 percent in 2020 according to newly released United Nation Conference on Trade and Development figures.
In contrast, China, which has long been ranked the second-highest spot for foreign direct investment, saw direct investments by foreign companies climb four percent.
“While China attracted more new inflows last year, the total stock of foreign investment in the U.S. remains much larger, reflecting the decades it has spent as the most attractive location for foreign businesses looking to expand outside their home markets. Foreign investment in the U.S. peaked in 2016 at $472 billion, when foreign investment in China was $134 billion. Since then, investment in China has continued to rise, while in the U.S. it has fallen each year since 2017,” the Wall Street Journal notes.
