The policy of ‘internet sovereignty’ has officially given the Chinese authorities the right to control internet content. An ongoing campaign carried out by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology aims at “cleaning and standardizing” the internet environment. When in China, foreign businesses are required to abide by Chinese internet laws and regulations. How will this affect their willingness to invest in China?

Nigerian and international reporting on Chinese investment in Nigeria gives the impression that Chinese companies are the largest investors in the country. However, this is not the case.

Over the last decade, China has been working to shift from a manufacturing-led growth model fueled by low-cost labor to an innovation-led, higher-value-added model underpinned by strong productivity gains. Currently, though China is the world’s most populous country and its second-largest economy, and the country’s urbanization rate remains well below the global average.

National security concerns in the U.S. and China have been used to bar certain types of foreign investments. Subjecting a legitimate commercial deal to arbitrary and protectionist exercises may only invite a similar action by the affected state, thus creating a potential spiral adverse to foreign investments.

“China-bashing” rhetoric has for years dominated U.S. national elections cycles, however, can a rapidly increasing and geographically diverse Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States temper this typical national anti-China dialogue?

The withdrawal of a few enterprises from China does not necessarily mean that China’s ability to attract foreign investment is declining. Rising labor costs, land costs, and a shrinking manufacturing sector are several structural indications of a changing economy. China will investigate and respond to foreign business concerns regarding the investment climate and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of investors and enterprises.

China’s selectiveness of foreign investment reflects its restructuring economy, one that invests less in capital and labor intensive industries to investments in human resources and technological innovation. Some far-sighted multinational companies are actively making use of the new rules, seizing the opportunity of China’s structural transformation and beginning to make active arrangements in the strategic newly emerging industries and the high-end service industry.

Sudden cases of factory relocation and closures has caused China’s foreign investment communities to worry about a “massive foreign capital flight.” With further investigation, foreign direct investment in China is shifting from manufacturing to service sectors. The focus of concern about China’s FDI situation should not be exaggerations of “massive foreign capital flight,” but on the solid efforts to improve China’s investment environment.