What are the hottest places for attracting Chinese capital? The Economists Group's Intelligence Unit updated a biennial index ranking major economies in terms of their appeal for Chinese investment. Guess what? The US is not number one.

Singapore overtook the US as the most attractive destination for Chinese ODI in 2017. The country's superior business environment, access to South-east Asian markets and close links with China are integral to its top ranking. The US' decline had to do with higher trade tensions with China as well as the rejection of several Chinese investments by the American government. Hong Kong moved up to third from seventh rank in 2015.

Although developed economies still dominate the upper ranks of the index, emerging markets included the Belt and Road countries have risen in this update thanks to support for this initiative. Notable climbers include Malaysia, which moved to fourth in 2017 from 20th in 201 and Kazakhstan which jumped to 12th from 51th.

Despite a slip in the overall country ranking, the US still tops three of six categories including consumer goods, financial services and healthcare. The US is also ranked second most attractive in automotive and telecoms. That's mostly due to opportunities in acquiring technology and brands through mergers and acquisitions.

Chinese overseas direct investment fell 29% last year. But the report says the decline was unlikely to be a future trend. The report forecasts that there's still plenty of room for growth as China's ODI GDP ratio is much lower than those of larged developed economies.