Belt and Road Initiative: China ended coal financing last year, but oil and gas investments tripled, study shows
- China’s oil and gas engagements in the 144 belt and road nations tripled to US$10.9 billion last year from US$3.7 billion in 2020, Fudan University report shows
- Funding for renewable energy projects declined to US$10 billion last year from US$12.5 billion in 2020
China stopped building and funding coal projects in nations covered by its Belt and Road Initiative last year, but support for oil and gas ventures surged, according to a study published by Fudan University.
China’s oil and gas engagements – investment and construction – in the 144 nations covered by the initiative tripled to US$10.9 billion last year from US$3.7 billion in 2020, the report by the Shanghai university’s green finance and development centre showed.
However, support for renewable energy – hydro, solar and wind – projects declined to US$10 billion last year from US$12.5 billion in 2020 and US$16.4 billion in 2019.
Investments in energy, transport and infrastructure construction made up the bulk of China’s engagements in belt and road countries last year, which amounted to US$59.5 billion, slightly lower than US$60.5 billion in 2020. It was, however, 48 per cent lower before the pandemic in 2019.
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“With the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing, [Belt and Road Initiative] investments were at their slowest pace since China’s overseas investment strategy was coined in 2013,” the report said.
