The China Investment Corporation: Power, Wealth or Something Else?

In 2007, China created the China Investment Corporation (CIC), a sovereign wealth fund (SWF). There is much anxiety about how Beijing will deploy this US$500 billion fund. Specifically, there are concerns that Beijing may use the CIC to sanction others, gain control of other countries’ key assets, or challenge the international order. This analysis demonstrates that China is not wielding its SWF aggressively as an instrument of economic statecraft. Instead, Beijing primarily leverages it in order to advance its domestic objectives. However, China does use the CIC to enhance its natural resource security and build international partnerships.