中国对欧投资升至七年新高——《2025年中国对欧FDI更新》

Content

Report

May 20, 2026

Report by Rhodium Group and MERICS

Key findings

Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe (EU and UK) rose for the second consecutive year, reaching its highest level since 2018. It increased by 67 percent to EUR 16.8 billion in 2025. M&A activity drove the rebound, rising 89 percent year-on-year to EUR 7.9 billion. But greenfield investment remained the primary channel for Chinese FDI in Europe, increasing by 51 percent to a record EUR 8.9 billion. Europe made up nearly a quarter of global Chinese FDI in 2025, up from 17 percent in 2024.

While Hungary remains the primary destination for Chinese FDI in Europe, more investment is once again flowing into Germany and France. Hungary attracted Chinese investments worth EUR 3.9 billion in 2025, up from EUR 3.2 billion in 2024. Germany (EUR 2.5 billion) and France (EUR 1.9 billion) ranked second and third. Germany’s share of total Chinese FDI in Europe rose to 15 percent from 10 percent in 2024, while France’s increased to 12 percent from 5 percent.

The automotive sector attracted more Chinese FDI in 2025 than any other industry. Investments in the sector totaled EUR 7.6 billion, with 93 percent of them focused on the EV supply chain. The auto sector’s share of total Chinese FDI in Europe stood at 45 percent, down from 52 percent in 2024. The entertainment sector ranked second, pulling in EUR 2.3 billion or 14 percent of the total, followed by consumer products and services at EUR 2 billion or 12 percent.

Although completed greenfield investment reached a new peak in 2025, a decline in the value of newly announced transactions points to slowing greenfield momentum in the years ahead. In 2025, just EUR 5.2 billion in new Chinese investments in plants and equipment were announced, down from EUR 5.7 billion in 2024 and a steep drop from EUR 16.9 billion in 2023.

While Chinese greenfield investments are poised to slow, exports to Europe continue to rise, underlining the increasing threat to European industry. Chinese goods exports increased by 9 percent in 2025 in value terms, with particularly strong growth in sectors that had previously attracted significant Chinese FDI. Battery exports to Europe increased by 43 percent, auto exports rose by 15 percent (and by 29 percent in volume terms) and wind equipment exports surged by 65 percent.

Going forward, Beijing’s focus on building up domestic industrial capacity and keeping core technologies and know-how at home will continue to weigh on outbound foreign direct investment (OFDI). Meanwhile, persistently weak domestic demand and low profit margins in China, as well as an undervalued yuan, will encourage Chinese firms to continue to use exports as the main channel for selling their goods abroad.

1. Chinese investment in Europe surges to highest level since 2018

1.1 Europe has become the top destination for Chinese FDI in advanced economies

Chinese global overseas foreign direct investment (OFDI) increased by 18 percent year-on-year, reaching EUR 69 billion in 2025.1 It was the third consecutive year of growth in OFDI since 2023. Nonetheless, overall levels remain subdued at around 38 percent of the 2017 peak (EUR 182 billion). Chinese firms’ rising competitiveness in higher value-added sectors is supporting greenfield expansion. But tight capital controls in China and heightened regulatory scrutiny in destination markets continue to keep M&A activity in check.

Since 2024, investment in the EU and UK has been a key driver of the rebound in global Chinese FDI. The region’s share of total investment has continued to rise, from 17 percent in 2024 to nearly a quarter in 2025. Among high-income economies, the EU and UK now account for around 60 percent of total FDI. Chinese investment in other advanced economies has stagnated at EUR 10–11 billion annually since 2022, with the US flatlining at a decade-low of around EUR 3 billion. The divergence reflects the size and relative openness of the European market, particularly in consumer sectors and clean technologies.

Exhibit 1

1.2 M&A recovery drives growth in Chinese FDI

Chinese outbound investment in the EU and the UK rose by 67 percent in 2025 to EUR 16.8 billion, up from EUR 10.1 billion in 2024. It is the second successive annual rise, following seven straight years of decline.

The revival was driven by much stronger M&A activity, which increased by 89 percent year-on-year to EUR 7.9 billion, marking a strong recovery from post-COVID lows. It put M&A almost back on parity (47 percent of total Chinese FDI in Europe) with greenfield investment. Some 44 percent of total M&A value was driven by three large transactions in consumer goods and gaming: Hongshan’s EUR 1.2 billion acquisition of consumer audio electronics manufacturer Marshall Group AB in Sweden; Tencent’s EUR 1.1 billion acquisition of video game studio Easybrain in Cyprus; and Tencent’s EUR 1.1 billion purchase of a 25 percent stake in Ubisoft’s Vantage Studios in France.

Greenfield investment also showed strong growth, reaching a new record of EUR 8.9 billion, a 51 percent increase compared to 2024. Growth was driven by construction starts for new CALB, CATL, and Gotion battery manufacturing facilities, expanding the pipeline of EV-related investments. Automative investments remained dominant, but their share declined from 85 percent in 2024, to 77 percent in 2025, due to modest diversification into such sectors as ICT and energy, including new investments by TikTok and the State Development and Investment Corporation (SDIC).

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3

1.3 Hungary is still the top recipient, but its share has fallen

Investment in the EV supply chain meant Hungary retained its position as the top destination for Chinese FDI in 2025. Chinese FDI to the country rose from EUR 3.2 billion in 2024 to EUR 3.9 billion in 2025. Last year, three of the ten largest ongoing Chinese investment projects in Europe—CATL, BYD and Sunwoda Electronic—were in Hungary.

Exhibit 4

However, Hungary’s relative position weakened, as its share of total Chinese investment in Europe dropped from 32 percent in 2024 to 23 percent in 2025. No billion-euro investment announcements were made in 2025 – only smaller ones such as an R&D center for BYD (EUR 198 million) and Zhejiang Huashuo subsidiary Halms Hungary’s investment in an EV component factory (around EUR 200 million).

Germany and France ranked second and third. Germany raised its share of Chinese investment from 10 percent in 2024 to 15 percent in 2025. France boosted its share from 5 percent in 2024 to 12 percent in 2025. Completed investments almost tripled to EUR 2.5 billion in Germany, while they nearly quadrupled in France to EUR 1.9 billion. The “Big Three” economies (Germany, France and the UK) saw their combined share of Chinese investment grow from 23 percent in 2024 to 34 percent in 2025. Key projects in the Big Three included Red Rock’s offshore windfarm in Scotland, Luxshare’s acquisition of Leoni’s cable division in Germany and Tencent’s acquisition of 25 percent stake in Ubisoft’s Vantage Studios in France.

The rest of Europe attracted 43 percent of Chinese investment in 2025. Several countries received significant Chinese FDI, including Spain (EUR 1.5 billion, with more than a third coming from China Three Gorges’ acquisition of the Mula solar plant), Sweden (EUR 1.4 billion, dominated by HongShan’s purchase of the Marshall Group) and Cyprus (EUR 1.1 billion, all from Tencent’s takeover of Easybrain).

Exhibit 5

1.4 Automotive sector still the leader, while energy linked greenfield investment up sixfold

The three top sectors for Chinese FDI in Europe remained unchanged in 2025. The automotive sector received the largest share of Chinese FDI in Europe, pulling in EUR 7.6 billion in 2025, up 46 percent from EUR 5.2 billion in 2024. This made 2025 the second strongest year on record for Chinese automotive investment in Europe, after EUR 7.9 billion in 2015. The E

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