China’s Buy List

While much of the world is in austerity mode, China will be spending. During the downturn in 2009, it upped purchases of coal, copper and iron ore, capitalizing on low prices. Its outbound foreign direct investment is still tiny, but talk that it is looking for alternatives to U.S. Treasury bonds to park its money have sparked speculation as to what China will buy next. Here are some possibilities:

Real estate.

China’s frothy real estate market slumped in recent months. But wealthy investors who saw the decline coming have been putting their money in places like Australia, Singapore and Canada. The sagging U.S. housing market has made real estate there particularly attractive to Chinese investors. Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Mike Lee of Utah have proposed offering visas to anyone who spends at least $500,000 on housing in the U.S.–another big sweetener for rich Chinese.

Energy and raw materials.

If it’s under the ground, China wants it. China buys 65% of the world’s iron-ore exports and 40% of its copper and aluminum. It has opened mines everywhere from Zambia to Peru; drills for oil in countries such as Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Sudan; and has invested in natural-gas projects in Australia and Turkey. China is even in the market for coal, because its large domestic supply is low quality, which adds to pollution. Nowhere is off limits for China, though it is putting a greater emphasis on North American projects, wary perhaps of the political risks and accusations of neocolonialism that its extensive projects in Africa face.

Food, lots of it.

With memories of 20th century famines not forgotten, China’s state planners have long tried to minimize reliance on grain imports. But income growth is driving up demand for meat. That in turn drives demand for corn as feed. Despite a record harvest in 2011, in October China made its largest purchase ever of U.S. corn, and imports are expected to grow in 2012. Likewise, China is now the world’s largest soybean importer. That’s good news for ag states like Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, which have the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S.

Your country–maybe just a sliver.

In November the government of Iceland rejected a bid by Chinese tycoon Huang Nubo to buy 115 sq. mi. (298 sq km) of land–the equivalent of 0.3% of the island nation’s territory–to build a golf course and resort. The offer generated fears that China would use the land as a base for shipping, mining and drilling opportunities in the Arctic that open up via climate change. Huang, who founded Zhongkun, a real estate and tourism conglomerate that made him one of China’s richest men, said he planned to renew the bid and was considering options elsewhere in Scandinavia. Hello, Greenland.

Your movies, magazines and television.

The Chinese government worries its story isn’t being told fairly by the Western press, leaving it at a serious disadvantage in the realm of soft power. So it’s spending billions to expand China’s media reach. The official China Central Television now broadcasts in English, French, Russian and Arabic in addition to Chinese. The state-run Xinhua news service has moved its New York bureau from Queens to Times Square, where it now rents a 60-ft. (18 m) billboard, and has launched an English-language international television channel, CNC World. China’s ambitions also include big-budget films, like the recently released The Flowers of War, about the Rape of Nanjing, by director Zhang Yimou and starring Christian Bale.

Aging star athletes.

China is one-upping oil-rich Middle East teams by jumping into the market for soccer and basketball talent. Former NBA star Stephon Marbury–or Mabuli, as he is known in China–is the biggest crossover. He now plays for the Beijing Ducks. This year he was joined in the Chinese Basketball Association by free agents Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler, who all sought refuge from the NBA’s 149-day lockout. Marbury has staked his future in China, where he hopes to develop his Starbury line of shoes and clothing. In soccer, Chelsea’s French striker Nicolas Anelka is joining the Shanghai Shenhua in early 2012. His former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba is also rumored to be looking to China.

Aircraft carriers.

Two Chinese tycoons bid in 2011 for the retired British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. It’s the latest in a series of used aircraft carriers that China has snapped up; previous buys were from Russia, Ukraine and Australia. Some have been used as tourist attractions, like the ex-Soviet carrier Minsk, on display in Shenzhen, and the Kiev, at a theme park in Tianjin. But a third vessel from the former Soviet fleet, the Varyag, has been refurbished into China’s first active aircraft carrier. China is still in the market for retired ships.