(Reuters) – China was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak spread around the world, with the Chinese economy bringing in $ 163 billion in inflows.
The Chinese inflow of $ 163 billion last year, compared to $ 134 billion attracted by the United States, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report released Sunday.
In 2019, the United States received $ 251 billion in inflows and China $ 140 billion.
The Chinese economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter, with growth beating expectations as it ended a rough coronavirus streak in 2020 in exceptionally good condition and was poised to expand further this year, even though the global pandemic is raging unabated.
China’s gross domestic product grew by 2.3% in 2020, official data showed last week, making China the only major economy in the world to avoid a contraction last year.
The second-largest economy in the world surprised many with the rapid recovery from the coronavirus shock, especially since policymakers also had to navigate strained relations between America and China in trade and other areas.
Overall, the global FDI collapsed in 2020, falling 42% to an estimated $ 859 billion, from $ 1.5 billion in 2019, according to the UNCTAD report.
“FDI ended 2020 more than 30% under the trough after the global financial crisis in 2009,” UNCTAD said Sunday.
FDI flow fell by 37% in Latin America and the Caribbean, by 18% in Africa and by 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%.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; edited by Diane Craft