Strategic insights into China’s overseas acquisitions: state-owned mineral ventures in Australia

Abstract

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are increasingly active in overseas mergers and acquisitions in the mining sector, driven by the need to secure access to critical minerals. Australia’s rich mineral resources and stable investment environment make it a key destination. This paper examines the inside mechanisms of Chinese SOEs when they undertake Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) to understand how they perceive and navigate geopolitical change and regulations in the critical minerals sector. Drawing on interviews and documentary analysis of China Minmetals Corporation (Minmetals) and its establishment of the Australian subsidiary MMG, the research analyses the heterogeneous ways ..