IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/emeeco/v11y2019i3p215-231.html

Has China’s Investment Pattern in Sub-Saharan Africa Been Driven by Natural Resource Quest?

Author

Listed:
  • J. Alexander Nuetah
  • Xian Xin

Abstract

We assess China’s investment patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using total investment data separated into foreign direct investment (FDI) and infrastructure investment in four separate groups of countries covering the period from 2005 to 2017. Answering four questions based on arguments by scholars on China’s involvement in the region, we find that: (a) FDI constitutes only about 27 percent of China’s total financial flows into SSA; (b) only 30 percent of the total financial flows from China to SSA have gone into the natural resource sector; (c) mineral-related investments in mineral-resource-endowed countries constitute less than one-third of the total investment; and (d) less than one-third of China’s total investment in the region is allocated to natural resource extraction. These findings seem to refute arguments that Chinese investments in Africa are directed at natural resource extraction and that only countries endowed with natural resources attract Chinese investments.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Alexander Nuetah & Xian Xin, 2019. "Has China’s Investment Pattern in Sub-Saharan Africa Been Driven by Natural Resource Quest?," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 11(3), pages 215-231, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:emeeco:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:215-231
    DOI: 10.1177/0974910119887065
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0974910119887065
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0974910119887065?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthias Busse & Ceren Erdogan & Henning Mühlen, 2016. "China's Impact on Africa – The Role of Trade, FDI and Aid," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 228-262, May.
    2. Abdelhafidh Dhrifi, 2015. "Foreign direct investment, technological innovation and economic growth: empirical evidence using simultaneous equations model," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 62(4), pages 381-400, December.
    3. Bräutigam, Deborah & Tang, Xiaoyang, 2014. "“Going Global in Groups”: Structural Transformation and China’s Special Economic Zones Overseas," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 78-91.
    4. repec:wbk:wbpubs:2614 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Jing Gu, 2009. "China's Private Enterprises in Africa and the Implications for African Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 21(4), pages 570-587, September.
    6. Mr. Derek Anderson & Mr. Jorge I Canales Kriljenko & Mr. Paulo Drummond & Pedro Espaillat & Mr. Dirk V Muir, 2015. "Spillovers from China onto Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Flexible System of Global Models (FSGM)," IMF Working Papers 2015/221, International Monetary Fund.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mullings, Robert & Mahabir, Aruneema, 2018. "Growth by Destination: The Role of Trade in Africa’s Recent Growth Episode," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 243-261.
    2. Linda Calabrese & Xiaoyang Tang, 2023. "Economic transformation in Africa: What is the role of Chinese firms?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(1), pages 43-64, January.
    3. Akhtaruzzaman, Muhammad & Berg, Nathan & Lien, Donald, 2017. "Confucius Institutes and FDI flows from China to Africa," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 241-252.
    4. Lauren A. Johnston, 2019. "The Belt and Road Initiative: What is in it for China?," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 40-58, January.
    5. Zhao, Jun & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How does energy poverty eradication promote green growth in China? The role of technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    6. Cashin, Paul & Mohaddes, Kamiar & Raissi, Mehdi, 2017. "China's slowdown and global financial market volatility: Is world growth losing out?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 164-175.
    7. Shaobin, Guo & Ahmad, Khalil & Khan, Naqib Ullah, 2024. "Natural resources, geopolitical conflicts, and digital trade: Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    8. Broich, T. & Szirmai, A., 2014. "China's economic embrace of Africa: An international comparative perspective," MERIT Working Papers 2014-049, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. Simplice Asongu, 2016. "Reinventing Foreign Aid For Inclusive And Sustainable Development: Kuznets, Piketty And The Great Policy Reversal," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 736-755, September.
    10. Zhang Dongling & Fan Weili & Chen Jingshuai, 2019. "Technological Innovation, Regional Heterogeneity and Marine Economic Development — Analysis of Empirical Data Based on China’s Coastal Provinces and Cities," Journal of Systems Science and Information, De Gruyter, vol. 7(5), pages 437-451, October.
    11. Asongu, Simplice A, 2014. "A Development Consensus reconciling the Beijing Model and Washington Consensus: Views and Agenda," MPRA Paper 58757, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Qing Qin & Churen Sun, 2023. "Empirical Research on the Impact of China’s Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones on the Development of Host Countries in the Global Value Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-24, March.
    13. Agbaji, Dickson David & Zhu, Qiong, 2026. "Subnational impacts of Chinese education sector development aid on youth educational attainment in Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    14. Koku, P. Sergius & Farha, Allam Abu, 2020. "Other sources of FDIs in Sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Gulf Cooperation Council states," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 619-626.
    15. Chen, Yunnan & Sun, Irene Yuan & Ukaejiofo, Rex Uzonna & Xiaoyang, Tang & Bräutigam, Deborah, 2016. "Learning from China? Manufacturing, investment, and technology transfer in Nigeria," IFPRI discussion papers 1565, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Chen, Lijun & Parcell, Joe L & Chen, Chao & James, Harvey S. Jr & Xu, Danning, "undated". "Consumer preference for supermarket food sampling in China," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236043, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Andrew G Ross & Maktoba Omar & Anqi Xu & Samikshya Pandey, 2019. "The impact of institutional quality on Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 34(6), pages 572-588, September.
    18. Matthias Busse & Ceren Erdogan & Henning Mühlen, 2016. "China's Impact on Africa – The Role of Trade, FDI and Aid," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 228-262, May.
    19. Blagrave, Patrick & Vesperoni, Esteban, 2018. "The implications of China’s slowdown for international trade," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 36-47.
    20. Zahra Abdulhadi Shukra & Ying Zhou & Lingling Wang, 2021. "An Adaptable Conceptual Model for Construction Technology Transfer: The BRI in Africa, the Case of Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:emeeco:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:215-231. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.emergingmarketsforum.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.