The Relationship Between Inward Foreign Direct Investment and the Performance of Domestically‐owned Chinese Manufacturing Industry

The improvement in performance of Chinese domestically owned industry in 1995 and 2001 is strongly linked to inward foreign direct investment. Rising foreign presence contributes towards the narrowing of the performance gap between foreign and locally owned enterprises in China. While investment by overseas Chinese firms benefits overall Chinese industry throughout, developed country FDI only generated a positive impact in 2001. Inward FDI by both investor groups benefits Chinese state owned enterprises, but not until 2001 for collectively owned Chinese firms. The results support the use of inward FDI as a development policy tool, in conjunction with economic liberalization.