SYDNEY - Chinese investment in Australia last year dropped for the third straight year, researchers reported on Sunday , a further sign of the impact of souring economic and diplomatic ties.
The three-year decline underscores the deterioration of a once mighty partnership between the world's second-largest economy and its most reliant developed-nation trading partner. The statistics' release comes after a tumultuous week for bilateral relations, which saw the last two Australian journalists based in China flee the country on fears of police detention.
Australia-bound investment from China hit an all-time high in 2016 at A$15.8 billion, before the string of drops, ANU said. The Australian government has worked over the past few years to limit Chinese flows. In 2018, Canberra barred mobile technology maker Huawei Technologies from joining the rollout of the nation's 5G network.