Chinese enterprises, guided by strategic imperatives for world deployment, are actively investing in associate economies concerned in the Belt and Road Initiative, thereby offering extra sustained and complete momentum for regional improvement, consultants stated.
According to Ernst & Young”s “Overview of China Outbound Investment of H1 2025,” China recorded $64.8 billion in accomplished turnover in different BRI economies in the primary half of the 12 months, up 7.5 p.c year-on-year.
From ports to energy vegetation, and from railways to photovoltaic initiatives, China is accelerating the tempo of abroad funding underneath the BRI.
Experts say that because the BRI enters a brand new “golden decade”, it’s aligning intently with world improvement wants and is demonstrating sturdy momentum in areas reminiscent of commerce and funding, inexperienced transition, and science and know-how cooperation.
Xie Laihui, government director of the Division of Belt and Road Studies on the National Institute of International Strategy underneath the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated China’s funding in BRI associate nations has proven countercyclical progress, with standout options throughout undertaking scale, know-how and cooperation fashions.
Xie highlighted a gradual rise in whole funding and returns, alongside a shift in the investor panorama from dominance by State-owned enterprises to parallel advances by each SOEs and personal companies. He additionally famous that high-end manufacturing, the digital financial system and telecommunications providers — sectors tied to new high quality productive forces — have emerged as brilliant spots in funding progress.
“These highlights reflect Chinese enterprises’ breakthroughs in taking technology global and innovating cooperation models,” Xie stated.
According to the most recent knowledge launched by the Ministry of Commerce, China’s outbound direct funding stabilized with enhancing high quality in the primary half, with nonfinancial direct funding in BRI associate nations reaching $18.9 billion, up 20.7 p.c year-on-year.
Viewed over an extended horizon, from 2021 to the primary half of this 12 months, two-way funding between China and BRI associate nations exceeded $240 billion, together with greater than $160 billion in China’s outbound funding and over $80 billion in funding from associate nations into China, reflecting deepening funding cooperation.
Institutions such because the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the Asian Development Bank have taken shut word of the strong efficiency of China and BRI investments.
Xie stated funding underneath the Belt and Road framework has maintained sturdy progress, supported not solely by long-standing drivers reminiscent of coverage, sources and markets, but additionally by new catalysts together with the upgrading of company globalization methods and the diversification of economic devices. Overall, BRI funding reveals regular progress, with custom and innovation advancing in parallel, he added.
Meanwhile, inexperienced power cooperation has emerged as a standout characteristic of deepening BRI collaboration in current years. Under the framework of constructing a Green Silk Road, Chinese new-energy enterprises are actively increasing abroad, utilizing funding to drive the power transition in BRI associate nations, advance the adoption of fresh power and emissions discount, and, to a sure extent, improve power safety, Xie stated.
Fudan University’s Green Finance and Development Center not too long ago launched its China Belt and Road Investment Report (H1 2025), which reveals that China’s power funding inside BRI cooperation hit a document excessive this 12 months.
Green power collaboration additionally set data, with wind, photo voltaic, and waste-to-energy initiatives totaling $9.7 billion and including roughly 11.9 gigawatts of recent put in capability. The “new trio”, represented by new power automobiles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic merchandise, is quickly rising in BRI associate markets.
Hu Ming, Party secretary of the China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute, stated China has constantly embedded the idea of inexperienced, low-carbon improvement all through the complete means of BRI inexperienced power cooperation.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) interval, China’s direct funding in Belt and Road associate nations exceeded $160 billion, with inexperienced power funding surpassing conventional power in scale, he stated.
China has established a inexperienced industrial chain with worldwide aggressive benefits, deepening inexperienced capability cooperation with associate nations. It now provides 80 p.c of the world’s photovoltaic modules and 70 p.c of wind energy tools, offering strong help for the Belt and Road’s inexperienced power transition, Hu stated.