Data Insight
China Doubles Down on Mining: Q2 2026 Update
Mining dominated announced Chinese outbound investment in Q2 2026, driven by new acquisitions and the expansion of previously acquired operations.
The China Cross-Border Monitor
The China Cross-Border Monitor uses a transaction-based methodology to create a clear picture of China’s overseas investments and business presence.
Rhodium Group’s China Cross-Border Monitor (CBM) aims to increase transparency on China’s global investments and economic footprint. Traditional statistics capturing outbound FDI by Chinese companies are distorted by tax optimization and capital controls, creating a skewed picture of China’s overseas investments. Our transaction-based methodology tracks more than half a million individual investments worldwide, helping create a more transparent view of China’s global investment footprint.
Tracking China's outbound investments, one transaction at a time
- Total value
- The amount China's companies have invested overseas since 2000.
- $1.7 trillion
- Total count
- The number of individual investments China's companies have made overseas since 2000.
- 148,966 investments
In line with the broader CBM mission to increase the transparency of China’s overseas economic footprint, much of our data is free to the public. Users can break down the data by geography, industry, investor, and other variables so the output fits their research needs. Our dataset can provide answers to questions as broad as “how much Chinese investment is there in Germany” to “how many greenfield automotive investments did Chinese firms make in Morocco in the last four years?”
Latest research from the China Cross-Border Monitor
Note
From Pledges to Plants? Rightsizing China’s Global Clean Tech Investment
Chinese overseas clean tech investment is growing but not as large as some headlines suggest, according to new data on FDI by Chinese companies abroad across the EV, solar PV, and wind turbine value chains.
Report
Chinese Investment in Europe Rises to Seven-Year High: Chinese FDI in Europe 2025 Update
Building on a long-standing collaboration between Rhodium Group and MERICS, this report summarizes China’s investment footprint in the EU-27 and the UK in 2025, analyzing policy developments and the shifting patterns in China’s FDI.
Data Insight
China’s Global M&A Activity Jumps to Five-Year High: Q1 2026 Update
New data from Rhodium Group’s China Cross-Border Monitor (CBM) shows that mainland Chinese companies announced 128 major FDI transactions in Q1 2026 with an estimated total value of $26.3 billion.
Explore the China Cross-Border Monitor
See transaction data on China's outbound investments, broken down by geography, sector, and investor.
Explore the dataFootnotes
1.
For the purposes of this report, “clean technologies” refers exclusively to electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar PV. It does not include energy infrastructure deployment, such as wind farms or solar farms.
2.
For more details on official government statistics, see Rhodium Group’s The Next Generation of China’s Outbound Investment: https://cbm.rhg.com/research-note/next-generation-chinas-outbound-investment
3.
According to Rhodium Group’s China Cross-Border Monitor.
4.
United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD). “Global foreign investment up 14% in 2025, with growth concentrated in developed economies” https://unctad.org/news/global-foreign-investment-14-2025-growth-concentrated-developed-economies. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
5.
Mayger, James and Do Rosario, Jorgelina. Bloomberg (2026). “IMF Warns China’s Economic Policies Are Causing Damage to Others” February, 18. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-18/imf-warns-china-s-economic-policies-are-causing-damage-to-others. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
6.
Boullenois, Camille and Williams, Gregor and Wright, Logan. Rhodium Group (2025). “Malign Indifference: China’s Currency and the Threat to Europe” December, 18. https://rhg.com/research/malign-indifference-chinas-currency-and-the-threat-to-europe/. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
7.
Bundeswirtschaftsministerium (BMWE). „Investment Screening in Germany: Facts & Figures,“ https://www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de/Redaktion/EN/Publikationen/Aussenwirtschaft/investment-screening-in-germany-facts-figures.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
8.
Foster, Peter and Borrett, Amy and Dunai, Marton and Minder, Raphael. Financial Times (2025). “China’s investment push in Europe hits a wall” October, 20. https://www.ft.com/content/093de2c1-162a-44c4-b954-15db3c856047. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
9.
Prudhomme, Cécile and Boutelet, Cécile. Le Monde (2025). “Amid Shein controversy, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com sets sights on European market” November, 13. https://archive.is/kR6cn#selection-2049.387-2109.322. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
10.
Business Insider (2025). “Chinesische Autohersteller wollen angeblich diese VW-Werke in Deutschland kaufen“ January, 27. https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/mobility/vw-chinas-autohersteller-wollen-angeblich-deutsche-werke-kaufen/. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
11.
Council of the European Union. “Strengthening EU economic security” https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-16389-2025-INIT/en/pdf. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
12.
Bounds, Andy and Foy, Henry and Dunai, Marton. Financial Times (2025). “EU probes BYD plant in Hungary over unfair Chinese subsidies” March, 20. https://www.ft.com/content/0ef28741-6194-4ee6-8f23-945415de7458?syn-25a6b1a6=1. Accessed: April 22, 2026.
13.
Laprévote, François-Charles et al. Concurrences (2025). “The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issues a final determination on a trade and investment barrier investigation into the EU’s FSR” January, 9. https://www.concurrences.com/en/bulletin/news-issues/january-2025/the-chinese-ministry-of-commerce-issues-a-final-determination-on-a-trade-and. Accessed: April 22, 2026.