The article examines the main trends, dynamics and structure of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in the United States, China and the European Union (EU). According to many scientists, this type of capital flows is decisive for the comprehensive development of the country, since it has an impact on various aspects such as the quality of infrastructure, production capabilities, the standard of living of the population and technological development. The overall trend in FDI flows is not constant. There is also a change in the place of countries in the ranking of global recipients of investments: after dominating in most of the 21 st century, European countries began to give way to the United States and China in terms of gross investments by foreign capital investors. Nevertheless, the EU remains the main investment partner of the United States, and an important partner in relation to China. But there is a growing concern by the European authorities over China's foreign policy, as a result of which the former are taking restrictive measures and additional checks on Chinese FDI. Rising tensions are also observed between the US and China, driven by trade conflicts and US protectionist policies. Closer transatlantic relations and bias towards China are explained by the historical closeness and similar level of development between the United States and Europe, as well as by the imperfection of China's policies and legislation, the corruption of its institutions, restrictive measures by its authorities and the closeness of certain sectors for investment. The article also investigated factors that can affect the incoming flows of foreign direct investment, and their impact on some of the economic indicators of the regions. These factors include average annual wages, corporate income tax rate, real interest rate, export market penetration index, inflation and the main stock exchange index.
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