Heritage Foundation: Data Set on Chinese Foreign Investments

Over the past ten to fifteen years there has been growing apprehension concerning Chinese foreign investments, bond and non-bond related. The People's Republic of China has sought to increase its sphere of influence through investments in major powers across the globe and developing nations as well. The Heritage Foundation, recently put together a fairly comprehensive data set tracking non-bond Chinese investments.

From Heritage,



No matter how much you hear about China entering the "free market" one small fact usually glossed over is that Chinese companies, foreign and domestic, are owned by the state.

This brings into question their motivation. If China were a truly capitalist state, foreign investment would be an avenue for market gains and profit. Since this is not the case, what you are left with is, business transactions are motivated by political goals and needs.

Returning to the Heritage graphic above. You will notice that the two largest recipients of non-bond investment are countries in the Middle East and the Sub-Sahara Africa.

With China's continually growing thirst for energy and natural resources, the reason for investing so heavily in these regions is quite obvious, natural resources. Presently, China's major import partners for crude are the Middle East and Africa.

ETCN-According to the Ministry of Commerce, in 2008, China’s 50 percent import crude oil is originated from the Middle East Area, and the import volume is 89.6 million tons( taking up 50.1 percent), up 16.96 million tons year-on-year, with an increase of 23.3 percent. The second major import place for China is Africa, and the import volume is 53.95 million tons( taking up 30 percent), up 900000 tons, with an increase of 1.7 percent. Among the import countries, the top five countries are Saudi Arabia( 36.37 million tons), Angola( 29.89 million tons), Iran( 21.32 million tons), Oman( 14.58 million tons) and Russia( 11.64 million tons).

This interesting bit of information about Nigeria was just released today.

Reuters-Nigerian crude oil exports are likely to be well above the country's OPEC output quota again in July despite a series of militant attacks that have led to force majeures on some production streams, trade sources say.

And Niger.

BBC News-China will invest $5bn (£2.5bn) over the next three years to develop oil production in Niger.

Also there is the availability of minerals in the Congo and South Africa.

The Congo-An eminently mining country, the Republic of Congo is the centre of numerous exploitations of most diverse metals in a multitude of mines and quarries. Its soil harbours a wide variety of mineral species with facies of often very high esthetical quality.

South Africa-South Africa is the second largest producer of titanium and zircon in the world after Australia.

Natural resources are a commodity that are desperately needed to fuel an ever growing state with ambitions of turning itself into a modern global super power. Specifically, one with designs to outpace even the United States.