Europe is "deindustrializing". Why do Chinese investors favor Europe

Singapore's Straits Times article on May 10, original title: Chinese investors are not tired of Europe. In terms of foreign direct investment, Europe has become China's preferred "playground" in the West. According to a report jointly released by Baker and McKenzie law firm and Rongding consulting, China's total cumulative investment in Europe has increased from US $6 billion in 2010 to US $55 billion in 2014. From 2014 to 2015, the annual investment increased from US $18 billion to US $23 billion.

Many reasons make Europe more and more attractive to Chinese investors. First of all, the debt crisis in 2008 is the key. Since then, the Chinese government has begun to buy European bonds and invest in European infrastructure companies. COSCO Shipping Group's acquisition of Piraeus port in Greece is a good example.

Secondly, driven by the low exchange rate of the euro, the phenomenon of "deindustrialization" is taking place in Europe. Italy, Portugal and even France and Britain are providing (acquisition) opportunities for Chinese enterprises, covering industries such as automobile, food, energy, transportation, luxury brands, entertainment and tourism.

Third, it can be said that the competitiveness of China EU relations is far lower than the battle for dominance of major powers shaping us China relations.

Fourth, although foreign direct investment is an independent behavior of enterprises to some extent, it also comes from the "going out" policy introduced by Beijing in the 1990s. In Africa and Asia, China's foreign direct investment is mainly used to find natural resources, while in Europe, it focuses on acquiring brands and technologies and expanding China's footprint.

The rapid increase of Chinese acquisition transactions is also closely related to China's bilateral relations with various European countries. The countries that have received the most foreign direct investment from China have maintained unique relations with China.

In addition, unlike the United States, which has a committee on foreign investment, European countries lack such mechanisms to assess the impact of specific areas and transactions on national security.

Even so, China's investment in Europe is not without problems. For example, human resources are a tricky business for Chinese investors: like Japanese companies in the 1980s, they find it difficult to delegate power to European managers.