China's interest in owning global businesses goes back to 1999 when it introduced its Go Out Policy, which gave financial incentives to invest overseas. And after the 2008 financial crisis many struggling businesses around the world turned to Chinese investors in order to survive. Now that the coronavirus pandemic has driven many of the world's countries into recession, some nations have aired concerns about overseas ownership of domestic companies, fearing that Chinese state-owned and state-linked enterprises could exploit the forthcoming economic crisis. As relations between Western countries and China have been strained of late, notably because of the US-China trade war and China's actions in Hong Kong, these worries have become even more pronounced. Click or scroll through to find out more about China's moves into Western countries and companies over the years. All dollar values in US dollars.

Over the last two decades, Italy's fashion capital Prato, in Tuscany, has been transformed from a traditional textile manufacturing hub to a fast-fashion town with at least 4,000 Chinese-run clothing factories. The companies, eager to exploit the desirable 'Made in Italy' label, moved into the area in droves, sparking clashes with locals over jobs. Even though the Chinese investment boosted the market for Italian clothes exported to China, as well as to Europe, due to lower costs, by outsourcing materials and paying their workers less, many of these companies have undercut local businesses and left them unable to compete. 

One of China's 'Big Four' government-owned commercial banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) paid $5.6 billion in October 2007 for a 20% stake in South Africa's Standard Bank. That's the equivalent of $7 billion (£5.5bn) in today's money when adjusted for inflation, making this the largest single China-Africa investment ever.

Now the world's third biggest aluminium producer, Chinalco, which is owned by the Chinese government, acquired a minority stake in British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto in February 2008 in a deal worth $12.8 billion. That's the equivalent of $15.3 billion (£12.1bn) in today's money.

Chinese companies have pumped billions into buying up maritime infrastructure and now hold stakes in more than a dozen ports in Europe. The facilities have been dubbed 'China's Trojan ports' by some commentators, who worry they might be used for military purposes. The China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) got the ball rolling in November 2008 when it invested $5.8 billion in the Greek port of Piraeus. That's the equivalent of $6.9 billion (£5.5bn) today.

Driven by the Chinese government's Go Out international expansion policy, state-owned Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) snapped up Saab intellectual property in 2009, and has undertaken joint ventures with Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai. It has also built the world's largest Chinese parts factory in South Africa. BAIC already has a 5% stake in Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler, but in late 2019 it was reported to be buying more shares in the company on the open market as part of a plan to increase its stake to 10%.

China's state-controlled metals and mineral trading company China Minmetals has a strong global presence and has a North American HQ in Weehawken, New Jersey. The company also owns the lion's share of Australian mining company OZ Minerals, which it acquired back in 2009, as well as Congo-focused copper producer Anvil Mining.

In October 2009, the China National Petroleum Co (CNPC) acquired a 37% stake in an Iraqi oil extraction project, paying $5.6 billion (£4.5bn) to clinch the deal. The project to extract oil from the vast Rumaila oilfield is a joint-venture between CNPC, Britain's BP and Iraq's state-controlled South Oil.

In June 2009, Chinese oil and gas enterprise Sinopec finalised a $7.2 billion (£5.8bn) takeover of Switzerland's Addax Petroleum. Now a subsidiary of the Chinese oil and gas company, Addax Petroleum is one of the biggest oil producers in West Africa.

Hot on the tail of the Addax deal, in October 2010 Sinopec bought a 40% stake in Spanish energy company Repsol's Brazilian unit. The $7.1 billion (£5.7bn) deal expanded Sinopec's international operations and allowed Repsol to explore untapped oil reserves in the South American country.

In 2010, Swedish motor company Volvo, previously owned by Ford, was sold to Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group for $1.3 billion (£1bn). The move was seen as part of a wider movement in the auto industry where Chinese companies buy up major brands, including MG, for which there was a bidding war between Chinese automakers Nanjing Automobile Group and SAIC in 2006. Nanjing was initially successful, but SAIC didn't give up and bought Nanjing in 2007. Similarly Lotus has a majority Chinese owner, with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group taking a 51% stake in the business in 2017. 

In 2012, Chinese multinational conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group acquired iconic US cinema chain AMC Theaters for $2.6 billion (£2bn), before purchasing another US cinema chain, Carmike Cinemas, for $1.1 billion (£876m) in 2016. The two companies together represent the largest theatre group in the US. In the same year Dalian Wanda also tried to buy US production company Dick Clark Productions for $1 billion (£797m), although the sale was terminated after Wanda failed to honour its contractual obligations. 

The Chinese government-controlled China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which is the country's third biggest oil producer, got its hands on offshore production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea and the Atlantic off Western Africa when it bought Canada's oil and gas company Nexen in December 2012 for $15.1 billion (£12.1bn).

By the end of 2012 Chinese businesses owned $900 million (£717m) of US farmland, up 1,000% on the previous year. And China's influence in America's agriculture industry grew in 2013. One of the world's largest pork producers, Smithfield Group, was bought by meat processing company Shuanghui Group, now called WH Group. The sale was valued at $7.1 billion (£5.6bn) and it meant that one in four pigs in the US is now owned by a Chinese company.

In 2013, the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group continued its spree of acquisitions in the transport sector by buying the London Taxi Company, the UK-based manufacturer of London's iconic black cabs. This was followed by Geely opening a plant in the Midlands four years later to produce electric taxis.

Bolstering China's dominance of Kazakhstan's energy industry, the China National Petroleum Co (CNPC) acquired an 8% stake in KazMunayGas National for $5.3 billion (£4.2bn) in July 2013. Both entities are state-owned oil and gas enterprises with numerous subsidiaries.

A consortium made up of China Minmetals, conglomerate Suzhou Guoxin and the Chinese state-controlled investment company CITIC acquired Peru's Las Bambas copper mine in April 2014 for $7 billion (£5.6bn). British-Swiss mining behemoth Glencore sold its interest in the mine to garner the Chinese government's approval for its merger with Xstrata.

China Life Insurance Company, the country's leading life insurance firm, is 70% state-owned, and has been actively investing in overseas markets since 2015 when the government gave insurance companies the all-clear to buy up foreign real estate. Key investments include huge stakes in America's Marriott International Inc. hotel group, the Seaport development in Boston and London's Aldgate Tower skyscraper.

Famed for its quality tyres and arty calendars, Italy's Pirelli was acquired in June 2015 for $7.9 billion (£6.3bn) by a consortium led by agrochemicals and rubber manufacturer ChemChina. Two years later, the Chinese firm relinquished control of the Italian tyre-maker, selling off part of its original 65% stake, and returning Pirelli to the Milan stock exchange in a move designed to give the company a "market friendly face" and appeal to European investors. ChemChina now has a 45.5% stake in the business. 

In November 2015, troubled Malaysian state-owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad agreed to sell energy company Edra to China General Nuclear (CGN) for $6 billion (£4.8bn).

After buying New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel for $2 billion (£1.6bn) from private equity firm Blackstone in 2014, Chinese insurance titan Anbang bagged America's Strategic Hotels & Resorts in March 2016, stumping up $5.7 billion (£4.6bn). However, in 2018 the conglomerate was seized by the Chinese government after its former chairman was arrested and then jailed for fraud. After raising money by selling many of its portfolio of trophy hotels, including America's Strategic Hotels & Resorts to Korea's Mirae Asset Management, Anbang was released by the Chinese government in February this year. However, it is now facing a legal battle with Mirae after the $5.8 billion (£4.6bn) deal for Strategic Hotels & Resorts hasn't been paid as the pandemic has impacted financing.

Chinese conglomerate HNA, whose interests span sectors including aviation, financial services and tourism, spent as much as $50 billion (£40bn) on buying various foreign firms during 2016 and 2017. One of the most notable purchases was of Irish aircraft leasing company Avolon via its subsidiary Bohai Leasing. The deal was finalised at $5.2 billion (£4.2bn) in January 2016.

In June 2016, Chinese electrical company Haier purchased General Electric's appliances division, GE Appliances, for $5.6 billion (£4.4bn). The deal marked China's largest acquisition of an overseas electrical business. Since the acquisition, Haier has outlined plans to help GE Appliances become America's number one appliance brand and profits have been growing year on year.

HNA made its largest-ever acquisition in April 2017 when it bought US company CIT Group's aircraft leasing assets for $10.4 billion (£8.3bn). The purchase, which was made via HNA subsidiary Avolon, has established HNA as one of the world's leading aircraft leasers.

ChemChina teamed up with the Chinese government's sovereign fund China Reform Holdings in June 2017 to buy Swiss agrochemicals and seeds company Syngenta for $43 billion (£34.5bn). In January 2020 ChemChina revealed a plan to consolidate all its agricultural assets into a new holding company to be called Syngenta Group, which will be based in Basel, Switzerland. Reuters reported that ChemChina has approached Chinese backers for $10 billion (£7.9bn) to fund the reorganisation, ahead of taking the group public.

In July 2017 Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) acquired pan-European warehouse business Logicor from America's Blackstone for $13.8 billion (£10.9bn).

A Chinese consortium made up of property developer Vanke, investment companies Hopu and Hillhouse and Bank of China pulled off Asia's largest private equity buyout in November 2017 when it acquired a 79% stake in Singaporean warehouse operator Global Logistics Properties (GLP) for $9.1 billion (£7.3m).

European governments have stepped up efforts to prevent Chinese firms from buying up utility companies on the continent, but that didn't stop China Southern Power Grid from purchasing a 25% stake in Luxembourg's Groupe Encevo in 2018. The state-owned enterprise also owns large stakes in Chile's Transelec. In 2019, it tried to buy 50% of the UK's Electricity North West in 2019, but lost out to a consortium led by Japanese power firm Kansai Electric Power.

In December 2018, a consortium of Chinese companies, made up of China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC), PowerChina and Sinopec, invested $5.8 billion (£4.6bn) in a power plant in Nigeria. The hydroelectric plant is one of the largest project of its kind on the African continent and stands as evidence of ongoing Chinese interest in overseas energy projects.

In January last year, online shopping giant Alibaba purchased a German data company, Data Artisans, for €90 million ($103m/£60m). The little-known start-up specialises in providing large-scale data streaming services for businesses and was founded just six years ago. The deal marks an expansion for Alibaba into the data processing sector.

Controversial tech giant Huawei has hardly been out of the news lately, whether that’s for 5G technology or government bans of its services. In June last year, the company acquired Moscow-based security firm Vokord for $50 million (£40m). Huawei is said to be interested in the company’s facial recognition software, as well as its technical patents. 

Find out the story behind controversial Chinese company Huawei

In December last year, China Development Bank paid $154.5 million (£123m) for an LNG vessel used to transport liquefied natural gas. The purchase indicates a move towards increased investment in natural gas. It was recently reported by Reuters that China is expected to increase its natural gas consumption by 5% in 2020, and China’s top energy companies are increasing their natural gas output accordingly. 

Moving now into this year's purchases, which some have linked to the coronavirus pandemic and Chinese companies attempting to make the most of the economic fallout from COVID-19. On 21 January, China Energy Engineering Group acquired Spain's EAI and GHESA, the largest purchase of Spanish engineering companies by Chinese firms so far. This follows an increase of Chinese investment in Spain by 800% between 2014 and 2018. EAI is a company focused on energy, renewables and information, while GHESA works on infrastructure construction and power facilities. 

On 31 January, China State Construction Engineering Company (CSCEC) Algeria bought France’s BETOM Group, an engineering design and consulting company. The acquisition marked CSCEC Algeria’s first European acquisition, and is part of the Chinese firm’s wider plans to conduct operations in Europe in the future.

In March it was reported that the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) had completed a 49% acquisition of Oman Electricity Transmission Company. The SGCC is one of the largest public utilities in the world and has acquired significant stakes in electricity companies in the Philippines, Portugal, Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Brazil and Greece since 2008. 

In April, China Mobile bought a 20% stake in AsiaInfo Technologies, which will see the two companies enter into a strategic partnership for developing 5G, network intelligence and digital operations, among other things. The purchase has been valued at $180.6 million (£144m).

Now read about the industries that will boom after the coronavirus pandemic

Tencent, a Chinese multinational corporation which specialises in technology and internet services, has capitalised on an increased demand for video games during lockdown. The company spent $260 million (£208m) on a majority stake in Czech-based games designer Bohemia Interactive in late May, one week after it purchased a 20% stake worth $65 million (£52m) in Japanese gaming firm Marvelous. This is not Tencent's first foray into gaming. In 2016 it was part of the consortium that bought an 84.3% stake in Finland's Supercell, of which Tencent received a 50% share. In 2019, Tencent increased its ownership of Supercell to 51.2%. Tencent also has stakes in Snapchat, Spotify, Tesla, and Hollywood movie studios.

Airlines haven’t exactly had an easy time of it lately and Norwegian Air needed to restructure its debt before being entitled to government support. That’s where investors including BOC Aviation came in, purchasing a 12.67% stake in Norwegian Air in May. Singapore-headquartered, BOC Aviation is 70% owned by Sky Splendour Limited, which is a subsidiary of the Bank of China.

On 23 May, it was reported that China Railway Construction Corporation, the second largest company in the Chinese construction sector, had bought a 75% stake in Aldesa Group, a Spanish engineering company. 

In a significant deal that was announced in June, Chinese mining company Zijin Mining Group bought Canadian mining company Guyana Goldfields, which owns the Aurora gold mine in Guyana, South America, for CA$323 million ($238m/£190m). This follows Zijin Mining's purchase of Continental Gold for CA$1.3 billion ($960m/£763m) in March and a 50.1% stake in two copper mines in Tibet in early June.

Now read about businesses fast-forwarding plans because of COVID-19