Research On The Influencing Factors Of China’s Direct Investment In ASEAN

Against the background of profound changes in the international political and economic environment,foreign direct investment has become one of the best means for countries to promote their own economic development,strengthen economic and trade cooperation and promote mutual benefit and win-win results.The "the Belt and Road" initiative put forward by China at the right time in 2013 has made economic and trade exchanges between China and countries along the Belt and Road increasingly frequent.As a key area of the " the Belt and Road”initiative,ASEAN has become a key area of foreign investment and cooperation in China because of its geographical location,rich natural resources,low-cost labor and many other advantages.With the continuous upgrading of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the entry into force of the RCEP,the trade and investment activities between China and ASEAN will be more frequent in the future.China should make full use of ASEAN’s own advantages and the investment agreements signed with ASEAN to accelerate the implementation of investment facilitation and liberalization policies and create a high-quality and efficient investment environment for Chinese investment enterprises.This article analyzes China’ s direct investment in ASEAN countries by combining the relevant theories of international direct investment such as international production compromise,marginal industry expansion and investment development cycle.Due to significant differences in investment countries,competition in the mid and low end manufacturing industries,and an imperfect investment guarantee system,China’s direct investment in ASEAN countries has not been smooth sailing.However,on the whole,China’s direct investment in ASEAN countries is expanding in scale and improving in investment quality,and its development prospects are very optimistic.Based on the analysis of the current situation and existing problems of China’s direct investment in ASEAN,this article studies the factors that affect China’s direct investment in ASEAN from the perspectives of ASEAN’s political environment,economic system,economic strength,natural resources,human resources,infrastructure and the relevant investment agreements signed between China and ASEAN.Then the Tobit model is used to empirically test the relevant influencing factors and their degree of influence.The results show that ASEAN’s political environment,economic development level,natural resource endowment,labor resources,labor quality,infrastructure quality,science and technology level and China’s economic strength have a significant impact on China’s direct investment in ASEAN,However,ASEAN’s economic freedom,the Investment Agreement of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the economic distance between China and ASEAN are not the main factors that affect China’s direct investment in ASEAN.Among them,ASEAN’s political environment,economic development level,natural resource endowment,labor resources,labor quality and infrastructure quality have a positive effect on China’s direct investment in ASEAN,while ASEAN’s scientific and technological level and China’s economic strength have a negative effect on investment.Finally,based on the research of the existing problems of China’s direct investment in ASEAN countries and empirical analysis results,relevant countermeasures and suggestions are provided to optimize the layout of China’s direct investment in ASEAN countries in the future,such as establishing a sound overseas investment guarantee system,investing according to national conditions,improving infrastructure construction,and promoting investment cooperation by using RCEP rules.