Capitalist China Comes to the Southeastern United States: Localizing Foreign Direct Investment in the Carolinas and Georgia

Rapid increase in foreign direct investment from China to the more developed United States is an under-examined occurrence with critical long-term implications. This study looks at Chinese outward foreign direct investment in the three southeastern states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia to test the hypothesis that place-based advantages strongly influence the location choice of foreign firms. Government sources, research institutes, state departments of commerce, and interviews with corporate, metropolitan, state, and national scale actors supply data utilized to test the applicability of foreign direct investment theory to capital flows in a new direction. Results were tabulated and cross-referenced to demonstrate that Chinese companies come for access to a lucrative market and advanced knowledge in specific sectors. Implications for locations seeking this investment include sharpening their recruitment focus for attracting similar firms to pre-existing clusters and promoting network communication rather than relying on financial incentives.