China's 'new normal' of investment brings new opportunity for win-win

BEIJING - For the first time in its history, China has become a net capital exporter with outbound direct investment outnumbering foreign direct investment in 2014, presenting new opportunities for win-win cooperation with the rest of the world.

At the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) scheduled for Jan 21-24 in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will expound on the Chinese economy's "new normal."

Chinese investors channeled capital into 6,128 overseas firms in 156 countries and regions in 2014, with outbound investment reaching $102.89 billion, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier, according to a press conference by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday.

Growth was much faster than the 1.7 percent gain recorded in foreign direct investment, which was $119.6 billion. This is the first time the two-way nominal capital flows have been near a balance.

"If the Chinese firms' investment through third parties were included, the total ODI volume would reach about $140 billion, which means China is already a net outbound investor," said Shen Danyang, spokesman with MOC.

Chinese investors are investing in real estate, businesses and other assets overseas while growth at home is slowing. The country registered the slowest expansion pace in 2014 in 24 years, according to the GDP data released Tuesday.

The slowdown comes at a vulnerable time for the world economy - the eurozone is still at risk of another recession, the Abenomics has failed to drag Japan out of the mire, and investors are pulling out of emerging market funds.

Policymakers and investors were not prepared for a reality that after more than three decades on steroids, the world's second-largest economy has been transitioned to a "new normal" of slower growth.

The market, crazy about speed and figures, seems to have missed the reality that the Chinese economy is healthier under the "new normal" featuring positive trends of stable growth, an optimized structure, enhanced quality and improved social welfare.

China's sound economic fundamentals have not changed and the government will maintain macro-policies appropriate, Premier Li said during a meeting with Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF on Tuesday.