China on its way to buying the world?

Wang Jianlin (C), chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, holds an Atletico Madrid jersey with his name, to pose for a photo with Atletico Madrid's President Enrique Cerezo (R) and managing director Miguel Angel Gil after a signing ceremony in Beijing, Jan 21, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Just a few months ahead of China's entry into the WTO, former vice trade minister Long Yongtu proposed to name a private firm as "Landbridge" to express his hope for more trade and investment flows between China and the rest of the world.

The Shandong-based Landbridge Group, an energy and infrastructure conglomerate, didn't fail Long's expectations. The company invested 200 million Australian dollars (about 158 million US dollars) in Australia's oil and gas sector by buying Brisbane-based WestSide Corporation in August 2014. The purchase was a landmark acquisition of an overseas listed energy company by a privately owned player.

Landbridge is just one of numerous Chinese firms on an overseas buying spree intended to capitalize on the global thirst for investment and increasingly diverse domestic consumption demands.

A NET CAPITAL EXPORTER

Landbridge's success came as China ascended to the club of the world's net capital exporters for the first time, with outbound direct investment (ODI) outweighing capital inflows in 2014.

Chinese investors channeled capital into 6,128 overseas firms in 156 countries and regions in 2014. Outbound investment reached 102.89 billion US dollars, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) last week. China's ODI only stood at about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2002 after its entry into the WTO.

FDI growth was much slower at 1.7 percent totaling 119.6 billion dollars. It was the first time two-way nominal capital flows have been near a balance, marking the rise of new growth engines amid a slowing economy in China.

"If Chinese firms' investment through third parties is included, the total ODI volume would reach about 140 billion US dollars, which means China is already a net outbound investor," said MOC spokesman Shen Danyang at a press conference last week.

"If the past ten-plus years since 2001 have been marked by continuous inflow by foreign firms -- the catfish forcing local players to enhance competitiveness -- the next decade may witness a growing trend of Chinese firms venturing overseas. These Chinese dragons are coming," said Long Yongtu at a forum last November.

FROM MADE-IN-CHINA TO MADE-FOR-CHINA

The changing pattern of capital flow is a sign of China's transition from a devoted manufacturer to a sophisticated consumer.

Consumption contributed 51.2 percent to China's GDP growth last year, up three percentage points year on year to become the key engine powering economic growth.