BERLIN—China last year dropped out of the top three foreign investors in Germany for the first time in more than a decade, official German data seen by Reuters showed on May 20, as the Chinese regime focuses on boosting the domestic economy.
Figures compiled by Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), a government institution, reveal that China is now the fourth-largest contributor of foreign direct investment to Germany, behind the United States, Britain, and Switzerland.
GTAI managing director Robert Hermann linked the drop to an economic strategy promoted by the Chinese government that focuses on stimulating the domestic economy with investments in infrastructure as well as in research and development.
“The Chinese government regulates capital exports,” Hermann said. “Its increasingly focused on boosting investments domestically.”
The data showed that the United States remains the largest investor in Germany with 302 projects last year, followed by Britain with 185 and Switzerland with 184.
China, which was the third-largest investor in Germany in 2018, dropped to fourth place for the first time since 2009, when GTAI started compiling the data.
Britain rose from fourth place to become the second-largest foreign investor in Germany as companies alarmed that Brexit will hamper access to the European Unions single market set up affiliates in Europes largest economy.
