Barely a day goes by without news on China shopping abroad. A South African gold miner here; Angolan oil assets there. The country spent more than $15bn in Latin America in the past 12 months, according to Deloitte. Less, however, is reported on foreign money flowing into China. There are two reasons. First, it is difficult for individuals to get a foot in the door, hence China is not considered a conventional investment destination. Second, the data on inflows are hard to pin down.

But it is impossible to keep capital away from a fast-growing nation whose currency is criminally undervalued. Money finds a way. Capital Economics, for one, reckons it is pouring into China like never before. To calculate how much, consider that the dollar value of foreign exchange reserves leapt by $200bn in the first quarter, almost the biggest increase on record. As the trade balance for the same period was basically zero, capital inflows must have been the cause.

That capital is not only new foreign money; it also includes interest income on forex reserves, pretty sizeable when you hold some $3,000bn of reserves. Current account data are only reported annually but Capital Economics estimates quarterly interest income of about $35bn and negligible non-interest payments. That gives a rough estimate of the foreign investment flows into China: $165bn.