Today, let's delve into a hot topic, the mysterious "800 billion funds" exodus incident. Hold on, this isn't a plot from a novel, but rather a grand drama that unfolded in the real world. Money, as we know, comes and goes freely, but this particular movement is not a simple one; the story behind it is more colorful and intricate than you might think. It sounds like a detective novel, but in fact, this is our main course for today—a feast of economic intrigue. Are you ready for it?

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Let's start with an analogy. Suppose you are a businessman with a large sum of foreign currency. You can choose to exchange it for RMB at the bank or hold onto it for future international transactions. However, if everyone is in no rush to exchange, or rather, prefers to keep the foreign currency, then the bank will end up with more foreign currency than RMB, which is known as a trade settlement deficit.

Where should we begin this story? Let's start with the year 2018, when we had a trade settlement deficit of 56 billion USD. Hey, that's no small number, but it was just the beginning. In 2019 and 2020, our trade settlement situation suddenly improved, showing a surplus, especially in 2020, with a surplus as high as 158.7 billion USD. This shift was not only rapid but also intense, much like a plot twist in a movie, with the audience waiting to see how the protagonist will turn the tide.

However, the good times didn't last long. By 2023, the trade settlement deficit returned, this time amounting to 68.7 billion USD. You might wonder, what happened? In fact, this is closely related to our foreign investments. For instance, in 2018, during the peak of the trade war, our investments in ASEAN and Mexico surged, and the rapid growth in foreign investments quickly pushed up the trade settlement deficit.

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Then came the pandemic period, from 2020 to 2022, foreign investments decreased, but export orders grew significantly, and the trade settlement surplus also rose accordingly. But by 2023, the trade war flared up again, especially in 2024, when Europe and Mexico began to impose additional tariffs, which directly affected the pace and scale of our foreign investments.

It's like a car race, with moments of acceleration and moments of braking, testing strategy and timing. In 2023, foreign direct investment reached as high as 147.9 billion USD, with a 16.7% increase in non-financial direct investments, and an astonishing 28.4% growth in investments in countries participating in the "Belt and Road" initiative. At the same time, the overseas contracting projects have been steadily growing, especially in "Belt and Road" participating countries, with a turnover increase of 9.8%.This rapid outward investment, while generating a lot of economic activity, has also led to a significant outflow of capital. So, when you hear that 800 billion dollars of funds have fled China, most of it is actually what we have actively "sent" out. Our automobile manufacturers, due to the increased tariffs in Europe, have been investing and setting up factories in Europe, and even American politicians are clamoring for Chinese car manufacturers to establish factories in the United States.

All of this is an inevitable result of China's economic development. After years of rapid growth, China's economy has inevitably embarked on the path of large-scale outward investment. This is not only an adjustment of foreign economic policy but also a strategic layout. In the long run, this kind of openness to the outside world and investment is the general trend of China's economy and a wise move towards globalization.