It’s not just the US: around the world, doors are shutting on Chinese investment
From Germany to Britain to Canada, other nations have joined the United States in resisting the sale of technology companies to Chinese firms because of security concerns
As the United States grew more hostile towards Chinese investment in the country this year by blocking a handful of high-profile deals, many investors and advisers were confident China would find opportunities elsewhere.
That confidence has proven premature.
In recent months, Germany, France, Britain, the European Union, Australia, Japan and Canada have all joined an unprecedented global backlash against Chinese capital, citing national security concerns. Dealmakers now wonder whether this dynamic will run its course or should be taken as a new normal.
Outside the US, Chinese acquisitions have increasingly run into trouble. In August, the German government for the first time vetoed a Chinese takeover – the nuclear equipment maker Yantai Taihai’s proposed acquisition of Leifeld Metal Spinning, which specialises in manufacturing for Germany’s aerospace and nuclear industries – on national security grounds.
In May, Canada blocked a proposed takeover of the construction firm Aecon by a unit of China Communications Construction, also invoking national security reasons.