GLOBAL CHINA INITIATIVE
The Global China Initiative (GCI) advances policy-oriented research on China’s overseas economic activity and engagement with international institutions in order to enable financial stability, human well-being and environmental sustainability.
GLOBAL CHINA RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
In September 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged that China would stop financing new overseas coal-fired power plants and instead pledged to ramp up support for renewable energy projects. This announcement marked an important shift in China’s global energy policy, with potential to fill the glaring gaps in the financing necessary for the energy transition in developing countries.
An update to the China’s Global Power (CGP) Database, managed by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, introduces new data on China’s overseas power plant portfolio. A new policy brief evaluates the implementation of China’s 2021 pledge and offers both a recent and historical overview of China’s overseas power plants in terms of capacity, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy composition and investors.
The authors find, for the first time, the composition of Chinese overseas energy finance for both foreign direct investment (FDI) and development finance institutions (DFIs) has shifted to green energy, and there has been no new investment in coal-fired power plants since 2021.
Explore the Data Read the Policy BriefExplore the research
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Development Finance and Critical Minerals: Opportunities for Supporting Sustainability and Inclusion through Patient Capital
June 09, 2025Robust environmental and social risk management (ESRM) frameworks are posited as tools that can, if effectively implemented, contribute to more sustainable and inclusive development. Yet... [ More ]
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Five Topics to Watch at the Fourth China-CELAC Forum
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Capitalizing on Low-Carbon Technology Trade for Developing Countries
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Developing Countries Locked Out of Low-Carbon Technology Trade
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No New Coal: A Shift in the Composition of China’s Overseas Power Plant Portfolio?
April 28, 2025 In September 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged that China would stop financing new overseas coal-fired power plants and instead pledged to ramp up support... [ More ]
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The Lender of First Resort? Chinese Swap Lines, the IMF and the Changing International Financial Architecture
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The IMF’s 17th General Review of Quotas Needs a New Formula to Deliver on Development
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A Challenging Imperative: IMF Reform, the 17th Quota Review and Increasing Voice and Representation for Developing Countries
April 14, 2025Quotas are at the core of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s finances and governance. Beyond serving as the IMF’s primary funding source to support IMF lending... [ More ]
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The Role of Government Guidance Funds in Financing Innovation in China
April 02, 2025By Cornel Ban and Xuan Li In most Western economies, venture capital (VC) is largely a private enterprise, driven by the pursuit of profit. The state... [ More ]
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Financing Technological Innovation in China: Neo-developmental Financial Statecraft through Government Guidance Funds
April 02, 2025Driven by geopolitics and the threat of climate change, industrial policy has reclaimed center stage in the comparative political economy of national economies, irrespective of... [ More ]