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EconomyChina Economy

China’s outbound investment surges to 7-year high amid data centre, energy boom

Chinese investment is increasingly focusing on energy and raw materials projects in low and middle-income regions, report finds

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Workers stand outside a data centre in Malaysia. Chinese investment in data centres in Southeast Asia surged last year, according to a new report. Photo: AP
Carol Yangin Beijing

China’s global outbound direct investment surged to a seven-year high in 2025 as Chinese firms pivoted their capital towards strategic raw materials and data centres, according to a report by Rhodium Group released on Wednesday.

The latest China Cross-Border Monitor report found that Chinese firms announced US$124 billion of new outbound direct investment last year, an 18 per cent jump from 2024 and the highest level recorded since 2018.

Completed deals also saw a robust 14 per cent increase to US$73 billion, signalling a steady recovery from pandemic-era lows.

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However, the report stressed that this “offshoring” trend was still being far outpaced by China’s massive export machine, with the country logging a record goods trade surplus of nearly US$1.2 trillion in 2025.

Chinese firms’ newly announced investment in offshore manufacturing facilities fell across all regions except for North Africa last year, with a particularly significant drop in Central and Eastern Europe, the report said.

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“Big greenfield projects by companies like BYD have captured headlines, but the reality is that Chinese firms have built out manufacturing capacity at home at a much faster pace than production outside China since the pandemic,” the report said, noting that Beijing’s concerns over technology leakage were creating new headwinds for overseas expansion.
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