China’s Outbound Investment Stock Holds Global Top Three
China’s outbound direct investment (ODI) stock reached US$3.4 trillion at the end of 2025, keeping the country among the global top three for a ninth consecutive year even as its share of worldwide investment climbed to 7.4%, according to official data jointly released by three government agencies.
The figures, published in the 2025 Statistical Bulletin of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, show a country that remains one of the world’s dominant sources of capital despite a challenging international economic environment.
Record Flow, Rising Share
Outbound investment flows totaled US$213.58 billion in 2025, an increase of 11.1% year on year, People’s Daily reported. The scale of ODI “remains at the forefront globally, showing a diversified investment trend,” the report noted.
That diversification is visible in the spread of Chinese capital. The investment now covers 18 industry categories of the national economy, concentrated mainly in leasing and business services, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, and finance — while gradually expanding into green and low-carbon sectors, the digital economy, and green minerals.
According to CCTV News, the Bulletin was jointly released on 23 September, confirming the headline figures and the broadening sector mix that has come to characterize Chinese outbound investment.
A Web of Overseas Enterprises
The stock of Chinese investment abroad is matched by an extensive physical footprint. By the end of 2025, China had established 58,000 overseas enterprises across 189 countries and regions, employing a total of 4.761 million workers — of whom 2.965 million are local, non-Chinese employees.
Speaking at a State Council Information Office press conference, MOFCOM Vice Minister and spokesperson Ling Ji framed that footprint as mutually beneficial, noting that Chinese firms create more than 2 million jobs in host countries each year. “Chinese enterprises actively integrate into global and regional economies,” he said, adding that they “not only drive their own development and sharpen their competitiveness, but also contribute to host-country industry and global production and supply chains,” as Securities Daily reported.
Ling also pointed to resilience in the two-way investment picture. China’s inbound foreign direct investment stock stood at roughly US$4 trillion by the end of 2025, with 38,000 new foreign-invested enterprises established in the first seven months of 2026 and high-tech inbound investment growing 32.7% year on year.
Belt and Road Remains Central
The Belt and Road Initiative continued to anchor China’s outbound strategy. Direct investment into Belt and Road partner countries reached US$46.05 billion in 2025, accounting for 21.6% of the year’s total ODI flow. Chinese firms have established 22,000 enterprises in those countries, with an investment stock of US$407.25 billion.
“The Belt and Road Initiative has built a broad platform for Chinese enterprises’ outbound investment,” Ling said, describing a framework of “extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.”
Why It Matters
The ninth consecutive year in the global top three cements China’s position alongside the United States as one of the two largest holders of outbound investment stock, a striking shift from a generation ago when Chinese firms were marginal players in global capital markets. The diversification into green, digital, and critical-minerals sectors also signals that Beijing’s overseas investment priorities are evolving in step with its domestic industrial goals.
What to Watch
The coming year will test whether that momentum holds against rising protectionism and geopolitical friction that has increasingly shaped cross-border capital flows. Investors and policymakers will also watch the trajectory of high-tech inbound investment, which has become a bright spot even as traditional sectors see softer foreign inflows. The annual Bulletin and the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, held in Xiamen earlier in September, will likely continue to serve as policy showcases for these figures.
For now, the data presents a clear narrative: China is not only a magnet for foreign capital, but one of the world’s most consequential sources of it.