Chinese investment in Europe surges to 7-year high despite rising trade tensions

Chinese investment in Europe hit a seven-year high of €16.8 billion (US$19.5 billion) in 2025, driven by a strong rebound in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and record greenfield completions, a new report has found.But the annual study, published on Tuesday by Rhodium Group and the China-studies" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="18346" data-entity-type="organization">Mercator Institute for China Studies, cautioned that the pipeline may be thinning, with newly announced projects falling under pressure from Beijing’s push to retain industrial capacity at home and Europe’s growing regulatory barriers.Chinese foreign direct investment in Europe – including the United Kingdom – rose 67 per cent year on year in 2025, as China’s investors increasingly focused on the region. Europe’s share of China’s total global FDI jumped from 17 per cent to nearly a quarter, according to the two think tanks.