They tried to buy an oil company, but were denied by the industry-controlled regulators at the insistence of a panicked public that thought they’d send all the petroleum to China. I doubt that would have happened, though. They don’t want to cause chaos as much as they want to secure their most active export market. I think similar situations have happened in parts of Europe, although they are investing in companies in some countries. Chinese investment has helped Italian brands penetrate the Chinese market, granted, mainly those with at least partial Chinese ownership.