China in the Middle East: Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Transformation, and Regional Development

Abstract

This paper unpacks the uneven manners Chinese investment has taken shape in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It takes 2013 as the watershed as it is the year when the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s foremost diplomatic and economic strategy in engaging with the international community, was announced. The paper forwards three inter-related arguments. Firstly, Chinese firms have not usurped the traditional investors of the MENA (i.e. the US and key European states). Secondly, Chinese investment primarily favours MENA economies with large, young population and high endowment of natural resources. However, there seems to be a shift away to the other MENA economies in the post-BRI era. Thirdly, a significant portion of Chinese investment has financed energy-related activities during the pre-BRI era. The preference for energy-related investment has dropped somewhat after 2013 as Chinese TNCs participate in other activities such as tourism and real estate development.