Several countries want to increase national security reviews of foreign buyers, and have set plans in motion to implement investment clearance reforms

From Brussels to Canberra, policymakers continue to weigh the benefits of traditional open investment frameworks against growing anxiety over increasing investment from China and other economic and strategic competitors in sectors that are considered critical. The EU is considering adopting a region-wide investment screening mechanism for the first time. Australia, for its part, recently tightened restrictions on foreign acquisitions of agricultural land and electricity infrastructure. Likewise, in the US, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cfius) continues to make headlines. To date this year, at least four transactions involving Chinese parties have been frustrated and abandoned due to failure to achieve Cfius clearance....