China appears to be investing heavily in Brazil, Peru and Japan among other countries in a bid to show its political heft in the global arena, the Washington Post observes. The country’s investments in Brazil totaled more than USD20 billion in the first half of 2010, putting it on track as the South American country’s number one investor for 2010. China also quadrupled its investments in Japan and Peru. These investments represent the Chinese version of “dollar diplomacy,” the Washington Post says.
Meanwhile, in the local business scene, China is being slammed for its investment policies and regulations, which foreign companies and the European Union said were restricting the entry of foreign investors into the country’s economy. Heads of some of the Western world’s leading multinationals have noted that some of the country’s new policies make it a difficult place for foreign businesses to deal with, the Washington Post reports. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht has blasted the country’s procurement rules for similar reasons. He said recent reforms to laws favoring local innovation are not enough to address numerous complaints of discrimination against China’s foreign trading partners, the Wall Street Journal reports.
