What Happened
Chinese companies acquired 6.48 million hectares of land overseas between 2011 and 2020, Nikkei Asia reported July 13, citing a new report released by Land Matrix. Chinese purchases dwarfed the 1.56 million hectares bought by the United Kingdom (who was the next largest buyer of overseas land during that time period), followed by the 860,000 and the 420,000 hectares bought by U.S. and Japanese companies, respectively. Myanmar and Russia accounted for the majority of agricultural land purchases; the Democratic Republic of Congo comprised the majority of forest land acquisitions; Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo comprised the majority of mining land acquisitions.

Why It Matters
Direct acquisitions of overseas land enable Chinese companies to reliably access resources outside of China, which has a shortage of agricultural land compared with its vast population, as well as a longstanding ban on domestic logging and an ever-growing domestic appetite for raw material inputs. The growing global shift away from fossil fuels likely spurred the land acquisitions in countries like Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which both have deposits of raw materials key to the green energy revolution. China’s massive overseas buying spree, however, risks triggering a domestic backlash in these countries, as has already been seen in places like Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka.

Background
China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative seeks to push domestic state-owned and private companies outward to broaden infrastructure connections back into China and gain greater access to vital resources. China has achieved the most success in countries across the global south, including several of the countries mentioned in this report.