Network-Based Political Risks Of International Investment Under The Interaction Of Multiple Subjects

In recent years,China has been opening up new areas and fields of cooperation in international investment and achieving fruitful results.However,under the background of increased protectionism,unilateralism and geopolitical conflicts,comprehensive political,economic,legal,cultural and social challenges and risks in international investment have come into play.In addition to traditional political risks,enterprises also face political risks from civil organizations,commercial entities,media and other types of informal power subjects in international investment.These subjects are often interconnected,interact and influence each other,posing a network of political risk to international investment.For example,in addition to the Build Back Better World Initiative,the Blue Dot Network Program,the Global Gateway Program and other hedging projects launched by the U.S.and other Western countries,they often draw in local anti-China forces and incite civil society groups and media to launch public opinion campaigns to smear China;various civil society organizations often combine with local media to take the "moral high ground"on specific issues such as environmental protection,human rights and national security.They raise questions about the overseas investment projects of Chinese enterprises,stirring up doubts among local people and governments,damaging China’s overseas interests and international reputation,and causing great losses to the overseas operations of enterprises.How to define the political risk of international investment?What is the law of interaction of multiple actors in the structural-functional network?How do they bring risks to the international investment and overseas operation of enterprises?This paper will work on these questions.Through the analysis and study of various cases,this paper finds that the political risks of international investment have taken new forms and manifested themselves in the form of increased interference from extraterritorial countries,increased risks in the field of governance,changes in the medium of risk transmission,and new risks brought by professional institutions.Under the perspective of political structural functionalism,this paper proposes the concept of network-based political risk.The network of interconnection and interaction between different organizations and institutions and other subjects in the international society includes various forces such as government agencies,political parties,interest groups,social organizations,media,and people.It is worth noting that the network referred to in this paper is not the network in the context of the Internet,but the network formed by the interconnection and interaction between multiple subjects.Unlike traditional studies on international investment risks,network-based political risks are systematic and comprehensive,transcending national units and diversifying structural subjects.This paper clarifies the interaction between among political power,business and social subjects from the perspective of political structural-functional networks,and explores the logic of their interaction in depth.In international investment,host countries will face a series of challenges,including increased competitive pressure,changes in industrial structure,and labor market disturbances,as foreign enterprises enter the local market.In order to maintain political and economic interests,the government and local enterprises will take measures to interfere with and hinder the investment and business activities of foreign enterprises in order to maintain competitiveness.At the same time,industrial chain risks and the embedding of social agents such as civil organizations and media will also have an impact on the international investment of enterprises.Under the structural-functional network,the political risk transmission channel of international investment is also networked,and this paper splits this network into two parts,including the political and commercial interaction between enterprises-government-enterprises and the social interaction between civil society organizations and enterprises.Under this network,enterprises and civil society organizations are the main subjects of risk generation and the starting point of the risk chain,and they influence the business operations of enterprises through the exercise of formal power and formulate policies by the government.Media are intermediaries of risk transmission in this network,transmitting and processing information between structures in the political system and performing functions such as political socialization,interest expression and aggregation,and result feedback.On the basis of the above-mentioned political structural-functional network,this paper selects three industries,namely mining,manufacturing and information service,and analyzes the characteristics of their political structural-functional networks,and constructs different risk assessment index systems on this basis.The mining,manufacturing and information service industries are the industries where Chinese enterprises have a high concentration of investment,and they are also the industries with high political risks.Because these industries are located in different parts of the industrial chain,they have typicality and representativeness,which can provide reference and help for future enterprises’ overseas investment and operation.