FILE: Tianjin Municipality, north China - October 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of Tianjin Port, port cranes, containers, freight ships

Geneva, Switzerland - Jan 26, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lu Xiankun, emeritus professor, University of International Business and Economics:
"China's recent measures to really push for this reform, including signing the RCEP, committing to joining the CPTPP, and also China-EU comprehensive agreement on investment, sends positive signals to foreign investors that they could benefit from further growth of China's economy."

FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of robotic arms in operation on factory floor

FILE: Shanghai, China - 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of machines working in factory

FILE: China - 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of robotic arms, automated device working

Geneva, Switzerland - Jan 26, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Lu Xiankun, emeritus professor, University of International Business and Economics:
"Foreign direct investment pushes up economic growth, while the positive economic growth would attract more foreign direct investment. So I think that's probably why that so [much] capital flows to China, which is the only country (major economy) that has achieved a positive growth."

Shanghai, China - Jan 21, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Medical workers in line
8. Medical worker disinfecting hands
9. Various of staff member of hospital taking body temperature
10. Various of medical workers receiving nucleic acid test

New York City, USA - Jan 26, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Mitchell Dong, Managing Director, Py'thagoras Investment Management (starting with shot 9/partially overlaid with shot 12/ending with shots 13-17):
"I see that the foreign investment is highly correlated to public health. And the control of the pandemic is the root cause. The problem is really not an economic problem; it's more of a public health problem. And people are not going to invest nor do business unless the pandemic is under control in your country. China had an initial head-start with its command and control system [which] was able to enforce lockdowns, which greatly limited the spread of the virus. So that's why investors invested more or did more economic activity in countries that had controlled its pandemic."

Changchun City, Jilin Province, northeast China - Jan 19, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
12. Various of nucleic acid testing in progress, medical workers collecting samples from residents
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

Shanghai, China - Jan 21, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Various of community under closed-off management
14. Various of medical workers holding sample tube
15. Various of medical workers collecting throat swab specimens from residents

Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China - Jan 23, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. People undergoing nucleic acid testing

Beijing, China - Jan 20, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
17. Various of residents in line for nucleic testing, workers disinfecting testing site

FILE: China - Exact Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
18. Various of vaccine development in progress
19. Syringe containing China-made COVID-19 vaccine

New York City, USA - Jan 26, 2021 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Mitchell Dong, Managing Director, Py'thagoras Investment Management (starting with shots 17-19/ending with shot 21):
"What multilateralism to me in the near-term means working together to fight the pandemic. It's the human population against the virus. And just getting it under control in the US and China is not good enough. If Africa doesn't achieve herd community then the world remains at risk."

FILE: China - Exact Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
21. Various of medics processing blood samples in lab

FILE: Shanghai, China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
22. Aerial shots of cityscape

China became the world's largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020 amid the global plunge, thanks to its trend-bucking growth, favorable policies and effective control measures against COVID-19.

Attracting 163 billion dollars in total, China bucked the overall trend of decline among nearly all other economies as it surpassed the U.S to become the largest FDI recipient, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Sunday, the UN agency in charge of monitoring cross-border investment.

In 2019, the top recipients for FDI were mostly developed economies, but in 2020 the landscape changed. In terms of growth rate, India and China were the highest, while in terms of sheer volume, China ranked first. Those registering a downturn in FDI inflows in 2020 were instead mostly developed countries, such as the UK and Italy.

China has enacted a series of policies on foreign investment after June in 2020, such as lifting the restrictions on seven more areas for foreign investment, and expanding free trade zones to a total of 21 areas across the country.

Lu Xiankun, emeritus professor of University of International Business and Economics, said that relevant measures and favorable policies have served an driving factor behind China's record FDI inflow.

"China's recent measures to really push for this reform, including signing the RCEP, committing to joining the CPTPP, and also China-EU comprehensive agreement on investment, sends positive signals to foreign investors that they could benefit from further growth of China's economy," said Lu.

China saw its GDP increase 2.3 percent year on year last year and was the only G20 member to register positive growth in 2020, although it is already the lowest growth rate in decades for China. Lu said that robust GDP growth of China is another contributing factor in attracting foreign investment.

"Foreign direct investment pushes up economic growth, while the positive economic growth would attract more foreign direct investment. So I think that's probably why that so [much] capital flows to China, which is the only country (major economy) that has achieved a positive growth," said Lu.

Mitchell Dong, Managing Director of Py'thagoras Investment Management, said that early lockdowns and stringent restrictions to curb the COVID-19 epidemic are another factors that have set China apart from other countries, which played a significant role in stabilizing foreign direct investment into China.

"I see that the foreign investment is highly correlated to public health. And the control of the pandemic is the root cause. The problem is really not an economic problem; it's more of a public health problem. And people are not going to invest nor do business unless the pandemic is under control in your country. China had an initial head-start with its command and control system [which] was able to enforce lockdowns, which greatly limited the spread of the virus. So that's why investors invested more or did more economic activity in countries that had controlled its pandemic," said Dong.

The United Nations has been calling for collective action in the multilateral approach. In terms of cross-border investment, multilateralism and international collaboration can result in a more healthy FDI distribution and flow. Dong said that for now, the most urgent agenda is to together fight against the pandemic as the world looks to get back on track.

"What multilateralism means to me in the near-term is working together to fight the pandemic. It's the human population against the virus. And just getting it under control in the U.S. and China is not good enough. If Africa doesn't achieve herd community then the world remains at risk," said Dong.