FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) flows between China and the United States are far higher than official data show, new research indicates, highlighting the close connection between the two economies even as tensions around cross-border deals rise.

    Last week’s surprise U.S. election result has cast a shadow over the China-U.S. relationship, as President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to tear up trade deals and label China a currency manipulator on his first day in office.

    U.S. FDI into China totaled US$228 billion from 1990 to 2015, much higher than the US$70 billion to US$75 billion reported over the period based on U.S. and Chinese government data, according to a report published yesterday by Rhodium Group, an economic research consultancy specializing in Greater China and India.

    Chinese investment into the United States totaled over US$64 billion over the same period, according to Rhodium, based on individual transaction data, compared to official estimates ranging from US$15 billion to US$41 billion.

    The report notes that investment by U.S. firms into China have generated 1.6 million jobs, while Chinese firms employ over 100,000 people in the United States.

    According to Rhodium, Chinese investment into the United States exceeded that of U.S. investment into China for the first time in 2015, highlighting Chinese companies’ rising global influence and the changing dynamics of the relationship.(SD-Agencies)