The fourth quarter saw several notable transaction status updates. In the United States, Green New Energy Materials, a Chinese-owned battery materials producer, brought its $140 million battery separator manufacturing facility in North Carolina into production ahead of its scheduled launch in early Q1 2026. In Mexico, automotive interior supplier Wuhu Foresight Technology inaugurated a $50 million production facility in Aguascalientes, marking its third manufacturing site in the country and further expanding its footprint in the North American automotive supply chain.
In North Africa, Shandong Yongsheng Rubber’s $675 million tire manufacturing plant in Morocco’s Kenitra Automotive City commenced construction, with initial capacity expected to reach 6 million semi-steel radial tires annually. Also in Morocco, Chinese group Sunrise, through its subsidiary Euwen Textiles, began construction of a $154 million textile factory in Fez’s Bensouda Industrial Zone, part of a broader $252 million investment program in the country’s textile sector. In Egypt, China’s Deli Group broke ground on a $200 million industrial complex in Tenth of Ramadan City and has already begun limited local production from a leased facility.
In Latin America, Geely formally acquired a 26.4% stake in Renault do Brasil, with Renault Group retaining majority ownership and operational control. In the digital and entertainment sector, Tencent completed its $1.25 billion acquisition of a 25% stake in Vantage Studios, a new Ubisoft subsidiary managing major game franchises including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six.
In Guinea, a commissioning ceremony was held for the Simandou iron ore project, where Chinese companies contributed an estimated $7 billion to the development of integrated mine, rail, and port infrastructure.
Several troubled Chinese investments were recorded in the fourth quarter, largely due to regulatory intervention and political scrutiny. In the United States, President Trump issued an executive order on January 2, 2026, requiring HieFo Corporation to divest semiconductor manufacturing assets it acquired from EMCORE in September 2024, following a CFIUS review. A subsidiary of Chinese battery maker Gotion abandoned plans to build a $2.4 billion battery materials plant in Michigan amid sustained political opposition to the project. China-founded networking equipment maker TP-Link sought to reassure US national security officials of its independence from Beijing following the restructuring of its US and China operations, though scrutiny persists over its Vietnam-based manufacturing supplying the US market. In Mexico, BYD signaled renewed uncertainty over plans to establish local manufacturing capacity, citing ongoing negotiations with authorities over electric vehicle tariffs that could reach up to 50%.
In Europe, Chinese-owned semiconductor firm Nexperia faced intensified scrutiny in the Netherlands, with regulatory intervention constraining operations at its Nijmegen semiconductor facility over national security concerns. WuXi Biologics also divested its drug manufacturing facility in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region for $240 million, continuing its withdrawal from Europe following the sale of its Irish assets in 2022. Meanwhile, Chinese-owned mining firm MMG’s $500 million acquisition of Anglo American’s Brazilian nickel business was subjected to an in-depth European Union competition probe, after regulators warned the deal could threaten reliable access to ferro-nickel supplies critical to the bloc’s stainless steel industry. In the energy sector, Italy’s Snam S.p.A., which is 10.5% owned by State Grid Corporation of China, withdrew its $1.1 billion bid to acquire a 24.99% stake in Germany’s Open Grid Europe amid regulatory pushback. In Italy as well, Pirelli has reportedly been in discussions with its largest shareholder, Sinochem, about reducing its stake to around 10% to alleviate concerns over access to the US market.
Investment by sector
The top sectors for Chinese outbound investment in Q4 2025 were basic materials, consumer products, and energy (Figure 2).
