Chinese investment in the US has made giant leap to more than $15bn

Chinese investment in the US has increased rapidly to more than $15bn, according to the National Committee on US-China Relations. The new record, set at the same time economic growth in China slowed to a 25-year low of 6.9%, is likely to be beaten again in 2016, according to the report.

The $15bn was spread across a mere 171 transactions in 42 states, with New York City being by far the largest recipient – $5.2bn in Chinese investment came to the country’s largest city in 2015.

China’s investment in the US comes as presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened a trade war over his perception that China is gaming the system. It also comes amid mounting criticism of a visa program – known as EB-5 – that grants permanent residency to rich foreign investors and that has proved particularly attractive to the Chinese.

“Access to technology and talent remains an important driver of Chinese acquisitions in the US,” wrote the report’s authors.

Analyzing data collected by the Rhodium Group, listed as a co-author on the report, researchers found that the south has hosted the most Chinese investment overall over the last 15 years, with more than $21.5bn invested in areas such as North Carolina’s multi-university “research triangle”, Houston and Oklahoma’s oil and gas reserves, and manufacturing in Louisiana and Alabama.

Among the assets purchased and deals cut in the study were:

• The Batman v Superman production company Legendary Pictures, acquired by Winda for $3.5bn. Legendary produced the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim – to which a sequel was greenlit based in part of the film’s overperformance in China – and Crimson Peak, among others
• The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, purchased by the Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95bn
• The iPhone supplier Omnivision, a semiconductor manufacturer acquired by a Chinese consortium led by Hua Capital and Citic Capital for $1.9bn. The firm makes makes digital cameras and owns 850 patents first filed by Kodak
• A proposed plant for manufacturing the industrial chemical methanol located in Louisiana’s St James Parish, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, a $1.85bn investment by Yuhuang Chemical

The report was underwritten by the Starr Foundation, a not-for-profit group that donates to many organizations, including the US Chamber of Commerce; Perfect World, a Chinese video game company that joined the acquisition game this year by acquiring developer Cryptic Studios for $50m; and Chubb, the largest property insurer in several countries, including the US and Brazil.