Chinese Outward Direct Investment in Europe and Belgium: Characteristics and Policy Issues

The foreign ventures of Chinese enterprises such as Haier, Lenovo, CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), and SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) during the beginning of the twenty-first century drew so much media attention that even the general public has become aware of the expansion of multinational firms from emerging economies, especially from China. In Belgium more recently the significance of Chinese investors was underlined by the role played by the insurance firm Ping An as a minority shareholder in the saga about the nationalization and subsequent sale of the Fortis Bank to the French financial group BNP Paribas and the rejected bid by the Chinese auto producer Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) to take over General Motors’ European Opel operations, including the plant in Antwerp, Belgium.