Year-ender: Top 10 most noteworthy FDI stories in 2020

I. China topped the world in FDI

China was the world's largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020, as flows rose by 4 percent to $163 billion, a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed. It was followed by the United States.

High-tech industries in China saw an increase of 11 percent in 2020, and cross-border M&A rose by 54 percent, mostly in the information and communications technology and pharmaceutical industries.

"The 2020 investment numbers underline China's move toward the center of a global economy long dominated by the US - a shift accelerated during the pandemic as China has cemented its position as the world's factory floor and expanded its share of global trade," the WSJ wrote.