Chinese Investment in the United States: Recent Trends in Real Estate, Industry, and Investment Promotion

Between 2011 and 2013, the value of China's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the United States exceeded the value of U.S. M&A deals in China.1 While it is too early to call this a permanent turning point, Chinese companies are poised to deepen their presence in the United States. Despite a recent economic slowdown, China remains a dominant goods exporter and is growing at a faster clip than the rest of the world. China's central bank holds some $4 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, and Chinese companies and wealthy individuals are eager to diversify their assets overseas. Although there is a steady stream of analysis on Chinese outbound investment, less well documented is how this investment is distributed among different industries and localities across the United States. Highly publicized deals, such as Shuanghui Group's $4.72 billion acquisition of Smithfield Group in 2013 and Lenovo's $2.95 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2014, can obscure the bigger picture. Smaller transactions are less consequential for the national economy, yet may exert a tangible impact on states and local communities. Investment patterns are determined to a large degree by China's economic policies and corporate strategies. Viewing Chinese investment from this broader perspective helps shed light on other important issues, such as Chinese purchases of U.S. homes, the granting of EB-5 visas, and bilateral research exchanges.