Hiroshi Mitani of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETO) explained candidly the fears of the Japanese entrepreneurs: “From the very beginning, several Japanese enterprises were concerned about China’s industrial purchasing moves because they feared the occurrence of a ‘Wimbledon phenomenon’ in which the Japanese market would be dominated by foreign players. But now we realize that those fears are unfounded because the Wimbledon Championships in the end injected vigor into sports in the United Kingdom.” He further elaborated on the idea, “The collision of different cultures and technologies will generate new sparks. Therefore, any foreign enterprise’s entry into the Japanese market will bring about economic vigor rather than danger. Japan should be more open and welcome investments from various countries, including China of course.”

    A New Source of Capital

    In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, countries around the world were hungry for new sources of investment capital. Many of them turned their attention to China, hoping that China’s investment would help stimulate the recovery of their economies.

    “The world’s eyes are glued on China,” said Mr. Rudolf Bekink, the Dutch ambassador to China, at the fair. According to him, foreign capital has had a vital impact on the Dutch economy, helping create job opportunities and develop new technologies. The Dutch government counts on China’s investment as a part of its national economy.

    Giuseppe Arcucci, foreign investment director of Invitalia – an Italian government agency for promoting inward investment and industrial development, said that Invitalia has offered concrete investment projects for Chinese investors and that the Italian government has recently implemented a series of preferential policies, including lowering corporate taxes, simplifying administrative procedures and providing support to research and development programs.

    Craig Bond, chief executive of the China division of the Standard Bank of South Africa, said at the fair that it is very obvious that emerging economies need China, because China has both capital and foreign exchange to support them, and particularly China possesses top-level management skills and engineering technologies that are indispensable for entering the markets of emerging economies.

    Statistics show that China’s total outward investments soared from US $2.7 billion in 2002 to US $56 billion in 2008. By the end of 2008, the number of foreigners employed by overseas Chinese enterprises had reached 455,000. In 2009, under the impact of the global financial crisis, the world’s transnational investment suffered a year-on-year sharp decline, while the outbound investment of Chinese businesses went up 1 percent to US $33 billion between January and September. This contrast indicates the rise of China as a capital source in the global market.

    Options for New-tech Industries

    China has both ample foreign exchange reserves and advanced technologies, so some Western nations also seek China’s capital to invest in their new-technology sectors.

    Japan, which has excelled at absorbing new technologies from other countries, is looking forward to greater investment from China into its most advanced technology sectors. Hiroshi Mitani explained at the fair that in the past Japan’s technology was superior to that of China, but now some of China’s technologies have surpassed the Japanese, especially in the fields of biopharmaceutics, herbal medicine patents and robot manufacture. He admitted that Japan hopes to bring in Chinese investment, together with technology, from these fields.

    Many developed countries are also attempting to attract foreign investment into their green energy sectors. Christopher Chung, CEO of the Missouri Partnership, said at the fair that the Missouri State Government is courting investments from Chinese enterprises, especially those in new energy sectors, such as wind and solar energy. He added that companies in Missouri would like to form cooperative partnerships with Chinese enterprises, either through outright purchasing or by merger. They hope that Chinese capital will lead to the establishment of factories in Missouri and create more job opportunities, especially in the context of economic recession.

    Kevin Tsui, managing director of North China Representative Office of Canada’s Pacific Gateway International Trade and Investment, told China Today that British Columbia in Canada boasts abundant mineral and marine resources, and coal mining remains among its traditional industries. The region is now encouraging investment from Chinese clean-energy enterprises. In addition, Chinese investment in information and communications technology are expected too.

    Giuseppe Arcucci told China Today: “We are particularly interested in Chinese investors that have their eyes on Italy’s technological innovation and development sectors, and I can say for sure that by working together with Italian companies these new technologies and products stand the greatest chance of being brought to market.”