GDP Center Releases New Findings from China’s Global Energy Finance Database
The Global Development Policy (GDP) Center, an affiliated regional center at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, has released new findings from the “China’s Global Energy Finance (CGEF) Database” detailing the decline of China’s energy sector loans.
The 2022 update recorded no new energy finance commitments from China to foreign governments in 2021 through its two most active policy banks, the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM). This is the first year with no new reported energy commitments since the beginning of the 21st century. A new policy brief, authored by Xinyue Ma, Cecilia Han Springer, and Honest Shao of the GDP Center, addresses key questions related to China’s drop in energy development finance and offers key takeaways from the 2021 data. The brief states that while this is a dramatic statistic, it is not entirely surprising given the persisting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, narrowing borrowing capacities in developing countries, and the global trend towards phasing out coal.
Given an increasing focus on greening the Belt and Road Initiative, the Center’s data makes one thing clear: if and when Chinese development finance for overseas energy activity increases again, it should be directed towards cleaner sources of energy to match the trends in foreign direct investment, policy announcements, and global goals for mitigating climate change.
Explore the CGEF Database on the GDP Center’s website. GDP Center’s findings were also subject to a Reuters article.
The GDP Center is a university-wide research center affiliated with the Pardee School of Global Studies. The GDP Center’s mission is to advance policy-oriented research for financial stability, human well-being, and environmental sustainability. Visit the GDP Center’s website for more.