Determinants of China’s OFDI Location Choices: A Comparison Study Between BRI Countries and Non-BRI Countries

Abstract

In recent years, China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has risen significantly, arousing considerable interest in the motivations and drivers of Chinese overseas investment. This paper selected 27 host country-related indicators and extracted the common factors using the factor analysis method. This paper discusses the determinants of China’s OFDI location choice by using panel data regression method, and focuses on the differences between Belt and Road countries and non-Belt and Road countries. The results show that the favorable institutional environment and strong market demand of host countries have a positive influence on Chinese foreign investment. Besides, China’s investment in Belt and Road Initiative countries is more prone to a country with less developed technology and unreasonable energy utilization. China’s OFDI can promote technological progress in these countries and making full use of their advantage resources for economic development. As China’s economy has entered a “new normal”, its global influence has risen, and the relationship between the host countries and China has also mattered more on China’s OFDI decisions. This effort provides important supports for optimizing the location choices of Chinese enterprises’ foreign investment.