Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland

China, mainland: Total FDI outflows — Value US$ was 147,850 million USD in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
147,850 million USD
Change on year
down 9.4%
World rank
2nd
of 168 countries
All-time high
196,149 million USD
in 2016
All-time low
830 million USD
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland, 1990–2023

050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k1990200620231990: 830 million USD1991: 913 million USD1992: 4.0k million USD1993: 4.4k million USD1994: 2.0k million USD1995: 2.0k million USD1996: 2.1k million USD1997: 2.6k million USD1998: 2.6k million USD1999: 1.8k million USD2000: 915.8 million USD2001: 6.9k million USD2002: 2.5k million USD2003: 2.9k million USD2004: 5.5k million USD2005: 12.3k million USD2006: 21.2k million USD2007: 26.5k million USD2008: 55.9k million USD2009: 56.5k million USD2010: 68.8k million USD2011: 74.7k million USD2012: 87.8k million USD2013: 107.8k million USD2014: 123.1k million USD2015: 145.7k million USD2016: 196.1k million USD2017: 158.3k million USD2018: 143.0k million USD2019: 136.9k million USD2020: 153.7k million USD2021: 178.8k million USD2022: 163.1k million USD2023: 147.8k million USD

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million USD.

Analysis

China, mainland recorded 147,850 million USD for total fdi outflows — value us$ in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.4% on the previous year and up 37.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total fdi outflows — value us$ in China, mainland peaked at 196,149 million USD in 2016 and was at its lowest, 830 million USD, in 1990.

China, mainland ranks 2nd of 168 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland, year by year

Annual values for Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland, 1990 to 2023.
Year million USD Change
1990 830 million USD —
1991 913 million USD +10.0%
1992 4,000 million USD +338.1%
1993 4,400 million USD +10.0%
1994 2,000 million USD -54.5%
1995 2,000 million USD +0.0%
1996 2,114 million USD +5.7%
1997 2,562 million USD +21.2%
1998 2,634 million USD +2.8%
1999 1,774 million USD -32.6%
2000 915.78 million USD -48.4%
2001 6,885 million USD +651.9%
2002 2,518 million USD -63.4%
2003 2,855 million USD +13.4%
2004 5,498 million USD +92.6%
2005 12,261 million USD +123.0%
2006 21,164 million USD +72.6%
2007 26,506 million USD +25.2%
2008 55,907 million USD +110.9%
2009 56,529 million USD +1.1%
2010 68,811 million USD +21.7%
2011 74,654 million USD +8.5%
2012 87,804 million USD +17.6%
2013 107,844 million USD +22.8%
2014 123,120 million USD +14.2%
2015 145,667 million USD +18.3%
2016 196,149 million USD +34.7%
2017 158,288 million USD -19.3%
2018 143,037 million USD -9.6%
2019 136,908 million USD -4.3%
2020 153,710 million USD +12.3%
2021 178,819 million USD +16.3%
2022 163,121 million USD -8.8%
2023 147,850 million USD -9.4%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2001 +651.9% 915.78 million USD 6,885 million USD
1992 +338.1% 913 million USD 4,000 million USD

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 2,323 million USD 830 million USD 4,400 million USD 10
2000s 19,104 million USD 915.78 million USD 56,529 million USD 10
2010s 124,228 million USD 68,811 million USD 196,149 million USD 10
2020s 160,875 million USD 147,850 million USD 178,819 million USD 4

Countries ranked near China, mainland

  1. 1 Japan 184,022 million USD compare
  2. 2 Türkiye 5,669 million USD compare
  3. 3 Switzerland 104,954 million USD compare
  4. 4 China, Hong Kong SAR 104,286 million USD compare
  5. 4 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 1,434 million USD compare
  6. 5 Germany 101,254 million USD compare
  7. 5 Melanesia 687.37 million USD compare

See the full ranking of 214 places →

More economy & growth data for China, mainland

All data for China, mainland →

Frequently asked questions

What is total fdi outflows — value us$ in China, mainland?
Total fdi outflows — value us$ in China, mainland was 147,850 million USD in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest total fdi outflows — value us$ recorded in China, mainland?
The highest recorded value was 196,149 million USD in 2016.
What is the lowest total fdi outflows — value us$ recorded in China, mainland?
The lowest recorded value was 830 million USD in 1990.
How does China, mainland rank for total fdi outflows — value us$?
China, mainland ranks 2nd out of 168 countries with data for 2023.
Is total fdi outflows — value us$ rising or falling in China, mainland?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China, mainland data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Total FDI outflows — Value US$. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/total-fdi-outflows-value-us/china-mainland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/total-fdi-outflows-value-us/china-mainland/">Total FDI outflows — Value US$ in China, mainland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Total FDI outflows — Value US$
Unit
million USD
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
214 places, 6,077 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

FDI is an investment which aims to acquire a lasting management influence (10 percent or more of the voting stock) in an enterprise operating in a foreign economy. FDI may be undertaken by individuals, as well as business entities. The foreign direct investor most often is aiming to gain access to natural resources, to markets, to labour supply, to technology, to ensure security of supplies or to control the quality of a certain product. FDI can be decomposed into two types of investments: mergers and acquisitions (MA) and greenfield investments. The latter type results in the creation of new entities and the setting up of offices, buildings, plants or factories from scratch in a foreign economy. FDI is the sum of equity capital, reinvested earnings and other FDI capital. Equity capital comprises equity in branches, all shares in subsidiaries and associates (except non-participating, preferred shares that are treated as debt securities and are included under other FDI capital) and other contributions such as the provision of machinery. Reinvested earnings consist of the direct investor's share (in proportion to equity participation) of earnings not distributed by the direct investment enterprise. Other FDI capital (loans) includes the borrowing and lending of funds, including debt securities and trade credits between direct investors and direct investment enterprises. FDI inflows and outflows are important for tracking the direct investment conditions each year. Outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows record the value of cross-border direct investment transactions from the reporting economy during a year. It represents transactions affecting the investment in enterprises resident abroad. Whereas, Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows record the value of cross-border direct investment transactions received by the reporting economy during a year. It represents transactions affecting the investment in enterprises of a specific industry resident in the reporting economy.