China was the largest recipient of FDI in 2020: report

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

China’s $ 163 billion inflow last year, compared with $ 134 billion raised by the United States, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report released on Sunday.

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

The Chinese economy accelerated in the fourth quarter, with growth exceeding expectations as it shut down a crude coronavirus 2020 in remarkably good shape and remained poised to expand further this year, even as the global pandemic raged unabated.

China’s gross domestic product grew 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 world’s second-largest economy has surprised many with the rapid recovery from the coronavirus blast, especially as policymakers have also faced tense relations between the US and China on trade and other fronts.

According to the UNCTAD report, global foreign direct investment had generally collapsed by 2020, falling 42% to an estimated $ 859 billion, from $ 1.5 trillion in 2019.

“FDI ended 2020 more than 30% below its trough following the global financial crisis in 2009,” UNCTAD said on Sunday.

FDI flows were down 37% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 18% in Africa and 4% in Asia, the report said.

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