Multinational Business Review

Purpose – This comment aims to join the discussion raised by Peng et al. regarding the social responsibility of international business (IB) scholars in the case of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), and to provide a subject overview about it.

Design/methodology/approach – In response to Peng et al.'s paper, this comment focuses on three issues, i.e. the myth of Chinese OFDI, round-tripping, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Findings – Owing to a short period of accumulation, the scale of Chinese OFDI stock is small compared to the global total. However, with its momentum, it may become a threat in the long term. Apart from round-tripping, tax havens such as Hong Kong have multiple functions for Chinese companies to invest in. Although the size of foreign investments conducted by private companies remains small, their role in Chinese OFDI should not be ignored.

Research limitations/implications – The arguments made in this comment are mainly built upon the data from the official publications, which could present a broad but superficial view of the Chinese OFDI. In order to fill research gaps such as the internationalisation behaviour of Chinese OFDI in tax havens, more stories need to be explored.

Originality/value – This comment discusses several issues that have been mentioned by Peng et al. but have been explored less in the literature, such as how to view Chinese OFDI in Hong Kong, and how to view the role of private companies.