Eventhough the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the total value of offshore investment plunging by half in Australia, the country has become China's top destination for commercial real estate investment, reports Propertynoise (27 August 2020). Data from Juwai IQI shows Australia has replaced the United States as China's top commercial property investment destination although overall Chinese cross-border buying enquiries fell by 27 per cent in the three months to the end of June. Juwai IQI executive chairman George Chmiel said it was remarkable that Australia with a relative small commercial property market had superseded the US as China's preferred investment destination. "The preference for Australian assets reveals that country's strong outlook for yields and capital returns, it's close economic ties to Chinese industry, and its long-term outlook for economic and population growth," said Chmiel. He added that negative global economic growth and restricted travelling have made due diligence more difficult than in the past and many investors believe that if they hold onto their capital they will be able to make cross-border investments on better terms later this year or in 2021.