Lou Jiwei, the head of China Investment Corp, cannot contain his glee. A year ago, sovereign wealth funds were portrayed in the US, Europe and Japan as vultures bent on gaining political influence through their investments. These days, in a welcome change of attitude, governments and companies cannot throw their doors wide open enough.

The scaremongering was fuelled by a mix of xenophobia and legitimate security concerns, illustrated by US opposition to Dubai Ports World’s attempt to acquire six US ports in 2006. To pre-empt such opposition, SWFs last year agreed on the “Santiago Principles”, a code of conduct promising transparent and non-political investments.