China was the main recipient of FDI in 2020: report

(Reuters) – China was the main recipient of foreign direct investment in 2020, as the coronavirus outbreak spread around the world during the year, with the Chinese economy contributing $ 163 billion. entrance.

Revenues of 163 billion Chinese dollars last year, compared to 134 billion dollars attracted by the United States, said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a report released Sunday.

In 2019, the United States had received $ 251 billion in revenue and China received $ 140 billion.

China’s economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter, with growth exceeding expectations as it ended a strong coronavirus strike in 2020 in remarkably good shape and remained poised to expand. even more so this year, even as the global pandemic sinks.

China’s gross domestic product grew 2.3% in 2020, according to official data shown last week, making China the only major economy in the world that avoided a contraction last year.

The world’s second-largest economy has surprised many with the speed of its recovery from the coronavirus shock, especially because policymakers have also had to navigate strained U.S.-China relations on trade and other fronts. .

Overall, global FDI had collapsed in 2020, falling 42%, to an estimated $ 859 billion, from $ 1.5 trillion in 2019, according to the UNCTAD report.

“FDI ended 2020 by more than 30% below reach after the 2009 global financial crisis,” UNCTAD said on Sunday.

FDI flows fell 37% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 18% in Africa and 4% in developing Asia, the report added.

East Asia accounted for a third of global FDI in 2020, while FDI flows to developed countries fell by 69%.