Chinese FDI Flows to the EU in 2024: A Blip or a Trend in the Making?

A recently published Rhodium Group and MERICS report shows that, after almost a decade of declining Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe, this trend was finally reversed in 2024. Throughout the year, Chinese FDI in the EU and UK increased by 47 per cent compared to the previous year. In addition, Europe remained the leading destination for Chinese investment in high-income economies, drawing around 53 per cent of all Chinese FDI in such markets.

What has prompted this increase? Is it a one-off or can we expect it to continue in the next few years? And how do the China to EU FDI flows compare to the EU to China flows?

The EU SME Centre and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China are pleased to invite stakeholders to our next Policy Meeting, where Agatha Kratz, Partner at Rhodium Group, and Andreas Mischer, Analyst at MERICS, will present the key findings of the study. The meeting will take place online on Wednesday 11 June from 14:30 to 15:30 CST / 8:30 to 9:30 CEST.

Registration and Eligibility Criteria

This is a closed meeting open to consortium partners’ management and relevant stakeholders of EU SME Centre Phase IV, including European embassies, consulates, EU-funded projects and secretariat/board members from European chambers or business associations only. If you meet the criteria and would like to attend, please send your information to Ms Yaojue (Elle) Dai (intern011@europeanchamber.com.cn)  with the subject line before Tuesday, 10^th June COB. You will receive a confirmation email.

Keynote Speakers

Agatha Kratz

Partner at Rhodium Group

Agatha Kratz is a Partner at Rhodium Group, leading the firm’s corporate advisory work. She also leads its research on European Union-China relations and supply chain diversification in an era of intensifying geopolitics. She also contributes to Rhodium’s work on China’s global trade and investment, and industrial and technology policy.

Agatha holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London, on China’s railway diplomacy. Her previous positions include Associate Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and Editor-in-Chief of its quarterly journal China Analysis, Assistant Editor for Gavekal-Dragonomics’ China Economic Quarterly, and Junior Fellow at Asia Centre in Paris.

Andreas Mischer

Analyst at MERICS

Andreas Mischer’s research focuses on tracking China’s foreign investment, its industrial policy and the Chinese automotive industry. Before joining MERICS, Andreas worked as a Business Analyst at convanced GmbH.

During his bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies / Modern Sinology at Georg-August-University Göttingen he also studied three semesters at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He acquired his master’s degree in China Business and Economics at Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg.