China Investment Corp. (CIC), a sovereign wealth fund responsible for managing China's foreign exchange reserves, has disclosed to the SEC that its holdings in major U.S. companies now total $9.6 billion. According to reports, the fund totals nearly $2.5 trillion. Using that capital, and acting as a passive investor, CIC is buying minority positions in major companies. The stakes that CIC holds in major U.S. corporations represent small pieces by percentage, but the total investment to date is worthy of note.

Manufacturing.net has reported that CIC has disclosed the following: "... small holdings in dozens of companies including, $353.8 million in Visa Inc., $6.3 million in Apple Inc., $9 million in Coca-Cola Co. and $1.4 million in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. It also listed a $1.7 billion stake in Morgan Stanley." It should be noted that these are all minority holdings in publicly traded companies. Beijing is intentionally avoiding investments that might be deemed politically sensitive.

Back in 2007 -- at the height of the private equity bubble -- the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp. (CIC), agreed to invest $3 billion in Blackstone (NYSE: BX). Of course, it was a disaster. In all, the investment lost roughly two-thirds of its value.

Despite all this, it looks like CIC hasn't given up on Blackstone. In fact, according to a piece in the Wall Street Journal, CIC is prepared to invest $500 million into a Blackstone hedge fund vehicle.