According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, foreigners invested some 545 billion US$ in China between 1990 and 2004. This investment came primarily (45%) from Hong Kong and Macau. However, the data do not show how much of this money was channeled through Hong Kong and Macau by foreigners, and how much was from Chinese investors located in Hong Kong or Macau. In the 15-year period between 1990 and 2004 the United States and Japan both contributed about 9% of the FDI in China. Seven percent of foreign investments in China came directly from Taiwan. Singapore, South Korea and the Virgin Islands contributed between 5 and 6 percent. It is interesting, that Great Britain, Germany, and France contributed only between 1 and 2 percent of the cumulated FDI in China since 1990.

It seems that global investments to China are frequently channeled through Hong Kong, Macau or the British Virgin Islands, which have extensive international business and financial services.

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