China
China’s Ministry of Commerce reported on 22 October that 47,800 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established in the first nine months of 2026, 2.3 per cent fewer than a year earlier. Foreign investment in actual use totalled RMB548.81 billion, down 4.3 per cent year on year, while the September figure was 2.5 per cent higher than in September 2025. Reuters noted from earlier ministry data that the year-on-year decline had been 5.3 per cent for the first eight months, so the cumulative fall narrowed in September.
Manufacturing received RMB131.94 billion and services RMB404.81 billion. Foreign investment in high-technology industries reached RMB228.53 billion, an increase of 33.8 per cent, and represented 41.6 per cent of the national total, 11.9 percentage points more than a year earlier. Investment in commercialisation of scientific and technological results, research and design services, and electronic and communications equipment manufacturing rose by 76.8 per cent, 59.2 per cent and 32.8 per cent respectively. The ministry also reported increases in investment originating from Canada, France, Switzerland, the United States and South Korea; those origin figures include investment routed through free ports.
Australia
Commonwealth-owned Snowy Hydro released its revised cost assessment for the Snowy 2.0 pumped-hydro project late on 22 October. The target cost has risen from A$12 billion at the 2023 project reset to A$22.2 billion, with provision for a cost scenario of up to A$25 billion. Full commissioning is now targeted for late 2029. When announced in 2017, the project carried an initial A$2 billion estimate and was expected to begin operating in 2021.
The reassessment said machine tunnelling was 65 per cent complete, cavern excavation was 90 per cent complete and construction of the underground power station had begun. Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes attributed the revision to immature design at the original investment decision, construction complexity, contractor productivity and cost performance, and higher prices for equipment, services and labour. He also said there could be no guarantee that costs on a megaproject would not change again.
Snowy 2.0 is designed to provide long-duration storage by pumping water into an upper reservoir when electricity is cheaper and releasing it to generate power when demand is higher. Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said in a joint statement that the government remained committed to completing the project, and that abandoning it would affect grid reliability, about 5,000 jobs and electricity prices. Those statements about future grid and price effects are assessments by the government and project company, not outcomes that have already occurred.
United States
The US Treasury Department on 22 October proposed regulations to implement the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act of 2025, expanding notification requirements and prohibitions for investments by US persons and companies in sensitive technologies in “countries of concern”. The proposal remains subject to public consultation through 7 December and is not yet a final rule.
The proposal covers China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia, and six sectors: advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence systems, quantum information technologies, high-performance computing and supercomputing, hypersonic systems, and biotechnology. Reuters reported that some prospective investments would have to be notified and that investments involving artificial intelligence technologies in target countries would be prohibited. Exceptions would include publicly traded securities and transactions below US$50,000, while investors could also seek a national-interest exemption.
The proposed rule implements legislation passed by Congress in 2025 and expands an outbound-investment security program that had principally targeted China. Treasury said the proposal would not ban all investment in the listed countries, but would focus on entities and transactions that may support military programs, surveillance or other dual-use capabilities. Biotechnology is the additional sector Treasury has proposed beyond the five specified in the legislation; the department cited biological-weapons proliferation, brain–computer interfaces and supply-chain security among the relevant risks. Reuters reported that potential licensing agreements between US pharmaceutical companies and China were not included.
Editorial framework: This briefing uses Sustenesis as an editorial framework for selecting facts, organising relationships and structuring information, with attention to differences and constraints in rules, responsibilities, resources, risks and social relations. Sustenesis functions here as a method of organisation rather than a position or commentary; the body remains limited to verifiable facts.
Sources
Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, “China’s utilisation of foreign investment from January to September 2026”
https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/syxwfb/art/2026/art_ca089e39ff5f4385be2d1bd9494de9de.html
Reuters, “Foreign investment flows into China fall 4.3% y/y in first three quarters”
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/foreign-investment-flows-into-china-fall-43-yy-first-three-quarters-2026-10-22/
Reuters, “Australia's Snowy Hydro project cost blows out to estimated $18 billion”
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australias-snowy-hydro-project-cost-blows-out-estimated-18-billion-2026-10-23/
ABC News, “Review finds delayed Snowy 2.0 hydropower project could cost up to $25b”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-22/cost-of-snowy-hydro-expansion-doubles/107276162
Reuters, “US Treasury drops Venezuela from countries facing outbound US investment restrictions”
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-treasury-drops-venezuela-countries-facing-outbound-us-investment-restrictions-2026-10-22/
Associated Press, “US Treasury proposes a rule to crack down on high-tech investments in China, other adversaries”
https://apnews.com/article/treasury-china-tech-investments-rule-b742c292ff8eb19e6a4c8cf03d4d66b9
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