After opening up its economy to the outside world and seeing decades of growth, is China turning its back on foreign investment? Is a populist response to public resentment heralding a new era of economic nationalism?
The international business community is worried. Several high-profileforeign takeovers of Chinese companies have recently ground to a halt. Carlyle, the US private equity group, said last October that it had agreed to pay $375m for 85 per cent of Xugong, a state-owned machinery company. After facing resistance from authorities the deal was watered down to a 50 per cent joint venture. A fund led by Goldman Sachs has been waiting since May for approval to buy Shineway, China's largest meat-processor. Schaeffler, the German company, also hit snags at the approval stage of its acquisition of Luoyang, a state-owned machinery maker. The list goes on.
