China moves toward global leadership

The Asian country surpasses the U.S. for the first time as the leading destination for foreign direct investment

The Asian country overtook the United States as the world's top destination for new foreign direct investment last year. The pandemic of the new coronavirus has accelerated a turn to the East in the center of gravity of the global economy.

New investments by foreign companies in the U.S., which for decades have occupied the first place, dropped a 49% by 2020. According to UN figures released on Sunday and reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Foreign direct investment in the Asian country increased by 4% over the past year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

China has long ranked second in the world in the ranking. However, its more effective control of the coronavirus (with strict closures to contain contagions after the disease first emerged in a central city) has worked in its favor. In fact, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew last year. Unlike the sharp contractions suffered by most of the world's other major powers.