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Article

Has the “Belt and Road Initiative” Promoted Chinese OFDI in Green Energy? Evidence from Chinese Energy Engagement in BRI Countries

1
School of Business, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
2
Institute of Belt and Road, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
3
State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
4
Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2025, 18(19), 5268; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195268
Submission received: 20 August 2025 / Revised: 27 September 2025 / Accepted: 28 September 2025 / Published: 3 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section B: Energy and Environment)

Abstract

The advancement of green energy is a crucial mechanism for balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability, helping to mitigate conflicts between development and ecological preservation. This paper assesses the policy effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on China’s overseas green energy projects (including gas) using the difference-in-difference (DID) model from 2009 to 2022. The findings show that, overall, the BRI has notably augmented China’s green energy projects in the BRI countries. This result remains robust after excluding potential interference from Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Specifically, its promotional effect shows heterogeneity. Firstly, the BRI has shown significant regional differences in promoting the development of China’s overseas green energy projects. Secondly, the BRI is more effective in promoting green energy projects in developing and low-risk countries compared to developed and high-risk countries. Additionally, it indicates that the BRI boosts green energy projects in BRI countries by enhancing their infrastructure quality, encompassing transportation, energy, communication, and financial infrastructure. Finally, based on the above findings, this paper provides context-specific recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the BRI in promoting sustainable green energy cooperation.
Keywords: green energy; the Belt and Road Initiative; the difference-in-difference model; infrastructure construction green energy; the Belt and Road Initiative; the difference-in-difference model; infrastructure construction

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, Y.; Xu, M.; Huang, Y.; Fu, N. Has the “Belt and Road Initiative” Promoted Chinese OFDI in Green Energy? Evidence from Chinese Energy Engagement in BRI Countries. Energies 2025, 18, 5268. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195268

AMA Style

Liu Y, Xu M, Huang Y, Fu N. Has the “Belt and Road Initiative” Promoted Chinese OFDI in Green Energy? Evidence from Chinese Energy Engagement in BRI Countries. Energies. 2025; 18(19):5268. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195268

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Yuli, Min Xu, Yu Huang, and Ningning Fu. 2025. "Has the “Belt and Road Initiative” Promoted Chinese OFDI in Green Energy? Evidence from Chinese Energy Engagement in BRI Countries" Energies 18, no. 19: 5268. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195268

APA Style

Liu, Y., Xu, M., Huang, Y., & Fu, N. (2025). Has the “Belt and Road Initiative” Promoted Chinese OFDI in Green Energy? Evidence from Chinese Energy Engagement in BRI Countries. Energies, 18(19), 5268. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18195268

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