A large amount of Chinese investment capital is moving abroad, and most of it is landing in Europe rather than in the United States, The Washington Post reports.

A new report by research consultant Rhodium Group estimated that over the past two years, Chinese companies invested more than $20 billion in the European Union, but only $11 billion in the United States.

The growth in foreign direct investment from China is expected to continue to grow, as the country attempts to rely less on exports and internal investment and invests its massive annual budget surpluses in other ways.

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As of 2007, China was investing only around a billion dollars each in the United States and the 27-nation European Union annually.

“The trend highlights the tension in the U.S. between the advantages of foreign investment and the suspicions surrounding China as an economic and military competitor,” The Post reported.

The Post said a conflict is that while the Obama administration seeks to curb hacking, intellectual property theft and other rogue business practices from China, direct investment from overseas is a proven job generator.

According to Rhodium Group analysts, European asset prices are depressed by the recession and a lingering financial crisis, and Chinese investors are being welcomed to “cash-strapped” European companies.

In addition, the research firm noted U.S. security reviews have killed some deals and likely dissuaded other investors from China.

“Chinese interest in advanced economy assets will continue to be strong in coming years,” the Rhodium report predicted. “The political response will be critical for future deal making.”

The state-owned China Daily USA said concerns over national security have “differentiated” Europe from the United States in terms of direct investment from China.

Ann Lee, an adjunct professor at New York University and author of “What the US Can Learn from China,” said that Europeans are not as concerned about national security because their “elites” are not trying to defend their role as the world’s lone superpower, unlike those in the United States, China Daily USA reported.

“The U.S. must always have an enemy to maintain their high moral ground among its citizens,” she told the Chinese newspaper.

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