Chinese Direct Investment in the Baltic Sea Region.
Authored by Jean-Marc F. Blanchard.
Although Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has been increasing dramatically globally since 2005, it only started to increase significantly in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) after the outbreak of the 2008 Great Financial Crisis. Chinese OFDI (COFDI) in the BSR has been heavily concentrated in Germany and Russia with a very strong focus on the energy and technology sectors. This mirrors what we have seen elsewhere: Chinese companies have been investing abroad to obtain natural resources, intellectual property and process knowledge, and leading brands in order to improve their competitive position at home, to facilitate greater sales abroad, and to help China satiate its economic development and national security objectives. Growing COFDI raises a number of potential political and economic consequences that warrant thoughtful consideration by policymakers, especially at a time when many are excited. About the potential investment and other implications of China’s eye-catching Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This report gives background on COFDI and COFDI in the BSR, discusses some of the concerns associated with COFDI, and offers a number of policy recommendations.
BSR Policy Briefing 1/2018 is written by Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations and Distinguished Professor with the School of Advanced International and Area Studies, East China Normal University (Shanghai, China).
Download the BSR Policy Briefing here.
