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China’s enormous overseas spending has helped it displace the United States and Europe as the leading financial power in large parts of the developing world. Here’s where China has the most influence, based on its share of foreign investment since 2005. CHINA’S SHARE OF NET FOREIGN INVESTMENT 2005-2013 Iraq 38% North Korea 93% Afghanistan 79% Ecuador China accounted for 57% of all foreign investment. Sierra Leone 70% Sri Lanka 27% Venezuela 12% Zimbabwe 82%







Risky countries Not risky

China’s foreign investments grew nearly tenfold from 2005 to 2013, helping it win new allies, increase trade and secure oil and other natural resources. 2005: $9.5 billion foreign investment Kazakhstan $4.2 billion No major investment in Africa China invested $1.4 billion in Ecuador.

2013: $86.3 billion foreign investment Russia $5.2 billion United States $15.3 billion Iraq $1.3 billion Guinea $6 billion Mozambique $4.7 billion

China has become especially powerful in many countries with risky political and legal regimes, which Western investors tend to avoid. Green circles show low-risk countries. Purple circles show high-risk countries.

Ecuador, for instance, defaulted on some debts in 2008, limiting its access to major sources of Western capital. But China stepped in with loans and investments worth roughly a quarter of Ecuador’s economic output. MAJOR CHINESE INVESTMENTS IN ECUADOR A hydroelectric facility is being built by Sinohydro for $2.2 billion. Quito ECUADOR Guayaquil PERU A group of Chinese companies redirected the flow of three rivers. A Chinese company bought the rights to a copper mine.

China made large investments in two other South American countries, Venezuela and Argentina, that defaulted on debts to the West, guaranteeing China a steady supply of oil and construction contracts for Chinese companies. CHINA’S SHARE OF INVESTMENT IN LATIN AMERICA 2005-2013 State-run Chinese banks have lent more than $50 billion to Venezuela, propping up an unstable regime in exchange for oil. Brazil China is a much smaller player in Chile, whose economy has been stronger than its neighbors. Chinese companies are building dams, railways and nuclear power plants in Argentina.

Africa and the Middle East reveal a similar pattern: China has locked up resources in countries with autocratic governments and struggling economies. CHINA’S SHARE OF INVESTMENT IN AFRICA 2005-2013 A Chinese oil company invested $5 billion in Niger, an amount nearly equal to that country’s G.D.P. China has invested in Zimbabwe as the West imposed sanctions against its leaders. China made large investments in Angola, which is heavily dependent on selling oil to China.

CHINA’S SHARE OF INVESTMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST 2005-2013 Iraq: 38% of investment is from China. Iran Libya Egypt As American troops fought the Taliban in Afghanistan, China invested in copper mines. Saudi Arabia A state-owned oil company bought access to oil fields in Yemen, the poorest state in the Middle East.