Abstract: Based on the dualization of enterprise value and investment, this paper constructs an enterprise investment selection model of political economics and proposes that the financial-production investment return rate and the risk gap are important factors affecting the financial investment behavior of the manufacturing enterprises. Based on the financial data of China's manufacturing A-share listed companies from 2006 to 2020, it uses the system GMM model to illustrate the fact that the expansion of the financial-production investment yield gap and the narrowing of the financial-production investment risk gap have increased the share of financial assets of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. After further decomposing the investment yield gap and the investment risk gap, it is found that the improvement of the financial investment yield and the production investment risk is the fundamental reason for China's manufacturing enterprises to expand their share of financial assets, and the increase of the production investment risks is the main aspect of the contradiction. The phenomenon of the expansion of financial investments of Chinese manufacturing enterprises has its stages and specificity. For example, after 2012, the socio-economic conditions that supported the early economic growth have changed, leading to increased risks in the domestic real economy, and more social capital flows to the financial sector, pushing up the rate of return on financial investment, which is ultimately manifested as an increase in the share of financial assets of manufacturing enterprises. Therefore, it is necessary to grasp the supply-side structural reform, restore the growth momentum of the real economy, at the same time be alert to financial risks, and give full play to the role of financial services in the real economy.

Key words: de-realization to virtuality, financialization, investment choice