Robots in the Kuka stand pour a beer into a glass at the Hannover Messe industrial trade fair in Hanover, Germany April 23, 2016. Nigel Treblin | Reuters

Germany is the safest place for Chinese investment, followed by New Zealand, Australia and the United States, while Venezuela is the most dangerous, edging out Iraq, Ukraine and Angola, according to rankings released by a mainland think tank on Thursday. Developed countries took the 10 top spots in the list of 57 destinations rated for investment risk by the Institute of World Economics and Politics, a body under the ­Chinese Academy of Social ­Sciences. Many of the nations along the "One Belt, One Road" route languished at the bottom of the rankings, which were based on 41 indicators, including economic fundamentals, debt repayment ability and relations with China. It was the fourth time the ­institute had compiled the annual list. The top and bottom-ranking countries were the same as last year.

Britain, which ranked third last year, dropped to eighth this time in the aftermath of its vote to leave the European Union. The U.S. also fell from second to fourth due to Donald Trump's win in the presidential election. China's is now the world's second-biggest investor after the U.S., with $1.09 trillion in total offshore assets at the end of 2015. Most of the money went to developed countries, including $40.8 billion to the U.S., $28.3 billion to Australia, $20 billion to the Netherlands and $16.6 billion to Britain. More from the South China Morning Post:

China's overseas investment soars to record, study suggests

INFOGRAPHIC: China's overseas investments

China'strade woes look set to last: ministry Institute senior researcher Zhang Ming, a co-author of the ­report, said domestic capital controls and global political uncertainties could mean a decline in offshore Chinese investment this year. "China's outbound investment size may fall this year … probably to the 2015 level," Zhang said. China stepped up capital controls to ease outflow pressures after Trump's win drove up the U.S. dollar and the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates late last year.