ABSTRACT
This chapter1 attempts to survey the extent and patterns of EUDI in China during the last two decades on the basis of both firm and country level data. Its main objective is to deal with questions such as: what are the salient characteristics of EU-invested enterprises in China; how have these features evolved over time and to what extent are the EU enterprises different from firms from the US, Japan and Asian NIEs. The section ‘Importance of EUDI in China’ will give an overview of the origin and development path of EUDI in China against the background of the changing Chinese investment environment. In the section ‘Characteristics of EV enterprises in China’, the major operational characteristics of EU-invested enterprises in China – such as investment size, industrial specialisation, location, ownership and contract duration – will be examined on the basis of an extensive statistical analysis. The section on ‘Comparative analysis’ will compare and contrast the features of the European-owned enterprises over time and with other foreign-invested companies in China. In the concluding section, the patterns of EUDI will be discussed from the perspective of the implications for the future development of Chinese FDI policy and the strategic reactions of MNEs.
