China’s outward foreign direct investment in countries of the belt and road initiative / Chang Le

Chang , Le (2022) China’s outward foreign direct investment in countries of the belt and road initiative / Chang Le. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from China has attracted the attention of scholars, especially after Chinese president Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. Investment from China flowing to the BRI countries has been motivated by economic factors amd non-economic factors. This research examined China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in the BRI countries from the perspectives of; characteristics, performance, and motivations using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Case studies have been used to deepen the role of government policy for China’s OFDI in the BRI countries. The main questions of this study concern the characteristics that empower Chinese enterprises to make investment decisions in BRI countries? What are the determinants of China’s overseas investments in the BRI countries? Is there any potential for Chinese enterprises to advance overseas investment in those countries? How does the Chinese government affect the direction and decision making of Chinese enterprises in the BRI countries? This study used micro and macro level data to examine the determinants and motivations of China’s OFDI in the BRI countries based on the characteristics of China’s overseas investment by using; descriptive analysis, stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), and case studies. The analysis was conducted using primary data collected from; companies' annual reports and released documents, government official documents, and secondary data published by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). In terms of research findings, this research has suggested that the existing mainstream FDI theory can partly explain OFDI from China to BRI countries. Firstly, the descriptive analysis of China’s overseas investment in the BRI countries showed that Chinese investment was likely to choose a host country with; abundant natural resources, a high GDP, and located geographically close to China. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has issued many policies to promote overseas investment to ensure; the security of natural resources, access to advanced technology, and upgrades to industries. Secondly, the empirical analysis suggested that Chinese investment in BRI countries was motivated by; natural resources, markets, and low labour costs. Also, the result implied that China’s investment in those countries had the potential to advance by improving the infrastructure of the host country. Thirdly, the case studies of Tsingshan and Huawei showed that government policy affected their investment decisions in the context of the Chinese government proposing the BRI. That China’s investment tends to flow to the BRI countries can be explained by government policy intervention.

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