9. Russia
FDI 2004-2010: $2.5 billion
Despite being neighbors, Russia ranks only ninth on the list of China’s top 10 destinations for foreign investments.
Chinese FDI in Russia more than doubled in 2005 to $203 million from $77 million a year earlier, and China’s investments gradually rose to $568 million in 2010. Chinese interests have ranged from energy to infrastructure. Some notable projects include
China Huadian Corp.’s investment of $323 million in a joint venture with Russian firm TGK-2 OAO to build a thermal-electric power plant northeast of Moscow in 2011. That same year,
China Chengtong Development spent $350 million to construct the Greenwood International Trade Center, which will be used to showcase Chinese products for the Russian market.
Last October, the two countries announced a
joint Russia-China investment fund to promote direct investment in Russia. Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. would invest $1 billion in the fund, and state-backed Russian Direct Investment Fund committed the same amount.
But investments between the two countries have been hampered by differences over energy supplies and competition for influence in Central Asia. Talks on a Russian pipeline that would supply gas to China fell apart last year when China opted for additional delivery from rival producer Turkmenistan. But things appear to be turning around after China announced last month that it had
a new proposal for Russia on the gas deal.