The impact of the epidemic has shown that China's foreign investment has shrunk in the first quarter

(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) The impact of the epidemic appears to be shrinking in the first quarter

　　China News Agency, Beijing, April 21 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) The impact of the epidemic on Chinese overseas investment is further highlighted. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce on the 21st, China ’s non-financial foreign direct investment amounted to 169.03 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 0.6%, and an increase of 1.8% from January to February.

　　In terms of US dollars, China's non-financial foreign direct investment in the first quarter was US $ 24.22 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.9%, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from the previous two months.

　　However, China's newly-signed overseas engineering projects have not decreased but increased. In the first quarter, there were 187 new projects with a contract value of over US $ 50 million signed by China ’s foreign contracted projects, an increase of 10 from the same period of the previous year; and large projects with a value of US $ 100 million increased by 22 from the previous year.

　　Looking at different regions, China's investment in countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” has risen against the trend. According to official data, non-financial direct investment by Chinese companies in 52 countries along the “Belt and Road” in the first quarter increased by 11.7% year-on-year, accounting for 17.3% of total investment in the same period, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the previous year.

　　In terms of industries, China ’s foreign investment in the first quarter was the largest in leasing and business services, accounting for nearly 40%. The wholesale and retail industry ’s foreign investment grew the fastest, with an increase of 59.6%. Investment in manufacturing fell by 38.5% year-on-year.

　　The UNCTAD recently released the "Investment Policy Monitoring Report" predicting that due to the epidemic, global foreign direct investment (FDI) will shrink by 40% in 2020, falling to the lowest level in the past 20 years. Between November 2019 and February 2020 alone, 28 countries introduced 38 new investment policies. Among them, developed economies such as the United States, Europe, Japan, Germany, and Australia have significantly tightened the foreign investment security review system. Under this circumstance, China's foreign investment faces a test this year. (Finish)