China, over the past 30 years, has experienced extraordinary economic growth, leading to a gradual liberation of the market. Despite this, China remains a nation-state with human resource practices steeped in Confucianism. The Chinese government, however, is committed to supporting overseas investment for companies looking to expand overseas. (IBM, 2006). There are many influences to consider when deciding which country to invest in. This essay will examine the cultural, economic, political and industrial factors that a Chinese steel mill must consider when deciding whether to open a new production plant in Britain or Sweden. After considering these questions, based on the evidence, the essay will conclude with a recommendation on which country is most viable to invest in. China's steel producers are majority state-owned, but they are also heavily subsidized, contrary to fundamental market forces. Any new production facility would raise concerns that the company would operate according to orders from the Chinese government rather than market principles. (Industry Today, 2011). If this were to occur, the Steel Company would fall foul of UK anti-competition laws, which prohibit anti-competitive practices (Smith, 2012). Despite this, the UK has few barriers to FDI; Furthermore, the UK is currently well served in the steel industry by Tata Steel, a large Indian multinational which recently opened a new production facility in the UK to cope with growing demand (BBC, 2014). This contrasts with the Swedish steel industry, which is currently operating under capacity due to subdued demand. (SBWire, 2014) Although similar to the UK, Sweden has few barriers to FDI and has similar anti-competition laws. (State.Gov, 2014). Given this, the fight against competition...... middle of paper ......tions until 2040, US Government Printing Office. Viavasterbotten, (2014), Västerbotten Investment Agency Infrastructure in Sweden. [Online] Available: http://viavasterbotten.se/regionalfacts/sweden/infrastructure/ Accessed: 02/04/2014 Wilton, N. 2013. An Introduction to Human Resource Management, Sage PublicationsWork.Sweden.Se, (2014) Work in Sweden [Online] Available: http://work.sweden.se/living-in-sweden/workers-rights-and-unions/ Accessed: 03/29/2013 Wrigley, C. (2002a). British Trade Unions since 1933, Cambridge University Press. Yeung, A., Xin, K., Pfoertsch, W. and Liu, S. 2011. The globalization of Chinese companies: strategies for conquering international markets, Wiley. Available: http://www.xperthr.co.uk/international-manual/sweden-industrial-relations/151028/#trade-unions-and Accessed: 29/03/2014