ABSTRACT
Developing countries are primary destinations for FDI from emerging economies following the World Investment Report 2022, including destinations in OECD countries. Based on three theoretical lenses and case analyses, we argue that Chinese outward FDI has impacts on wellbeing in destination countries, and that this is an important issue for psychological health in response to COVID-19. Based on the super-efficiency DEA approach, our study investigated the impact of Chinese outward FDI on wellbeing in OECD countries. We also applied a Tabu search to identify country groups based on the relationship between Chinese outward FDI and wellbeing and we developed a key node analysis of the country groups using an immune algorithm. This research has implications for public administrators in global governance and could help shape FDI policies to improve psychological health of the destination countries in response to COVID-19.