CHANGING STRUCTURE OF U.S. FDI ABROAD AND ITS DETERMINANCES

FDI behavior has been receiving growing attention in the world. FDI may be viewed as a typical spatial interaction process, which is not only determined by the attributes of origin (home) and destination (host), but also confined by spatial separation configurations. The origin and destination attributes are known as comparative advantages factors, location endowments, ownership endowment, and the internalization of multinational corporations. So the distribution of FDI should be analyzed in a comprehensive context. The changing distribution of U.S. FDI by regions and industries indicates that the spatial structure of U.S. FDI abroad, especially in Europe, Canada, Latin American, and Asia and Pacific Region, is relatively steady than that of the industries, which is transformed from the concentration on manufacture industries to finance, insurance and estate industries within the past two decades. Since FDI plays and a significant role in regional development, more efforts should be made by Chinese government to absorb much foreign investment, and on the other, to enlarge investment abroad, so as to promote China's economy to a new stage. Meanwhile, emphasis should be rested both upon the construction of networks between MNCs and local firms, and learning and innovative abilities of regions and firms should be strengthened simultaneously.