China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) recently released data on net foreign direct investment (FDI) in China for the third quarter of this year, which totaled US$8.5 billion, a 51 percent decrease compared to the previous quarter and a 92 percent decrease compared to the peak in the first quarter of 2022. Balance of payments data for the first three quarters also showed a slowdown in foreign investment inflows.
Over the past two years, China’s economic growth has slowed, with weak domestic demand and low consumer confidence. In the third quarter of 2023, China experienced its first net outflow of FDI since records began in 1998, amounting to US$12.06 billion. The resumption of the US-China tariff war in 2025 further affects the scale of foreign investment in China.
Some foreign companies that have already invested in China have chosen to scale back operations or sell shares. Recent examples include Burger King sold 83 percent of its China business to CPE-Fund, a Chinese investment asset management company, and Starbucks sold 60 percent of its China business to Boyu Capital, a Chinese private equity fund. These transactions have been announced by the relevant companies.
Official Chinese government statistics show that China’s GDP growth rate slowed to 4.8 percent in the third quarter of 2025. Some market reports suggest there is a possibility of “overvaluation” in the official numbers. Financial information platform FastBull pointed out that the decline in foreign direct investment indicates increased international corporate perception of risks in the Chinese economic environment.
Source: NewTalk, November 11, 2025
https://newtalk.tw/news/view/2025-11-11/1003940