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China’s outbound-investment rankings see US, Australia downgraded amid rising political conflict, deteriorating relations
- Government-backed institute also warns of the risks in investing in nations that fall under China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- In ranking the state of China’s relationship with 114 countries, the United States is now dead last, while Australia plunged to 89th from 50th last year
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A leading Beijing think tank has lowered the ranking positions of Australia and the United States as destinations for Chinese outbound investment, in its latest assessment of 114 countries, underscoring the risk to investors amid deteriorating relations with the two countries.
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The government-supported Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Thursday slashed its ranking of Australia – an investment darling in previous lists – by 12 places to No 15, just days after the first anniversary of their ongoing trade conflict that started with Australia calling for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus without first consulting China.
However, Australia, as the major provider of iron ore to China, remained in the low-risk “AA” category, CASS said.
The fall was mainly due to the rapid deterioration in relations between Beijing and Canberra, and partly because of Australia’s weakening debt-repayment capability, the institute said at a briefing in Beijing.
The coronavirus pandemic did not change the overall investment rankings, but many developed countries scored lower in terms of their relations with China due to a number of hot-button issues, including alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, Hong Kong’s security law and rising military pressure on Taiwan, according to the annual evaluation.
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