China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Developing Countries

The implementation of China’s open development strategy has unveiled a wave of outward foreign direct investment(OFDI)by Chinese companies,with global implications.Based on panel data from 146 developing countries from 2003 to 2017,we investigate the growth effects of China’s OFDI.We find that China’s OFDI has promoted significant economic growth in developing countries.Not only could China’s OFDI increase GDP per capita of a country in a short time but raise the country’s long-run equilibrium value as well.In addition,the growth effects of China’s OFDI were more significant for countries with weak governance,rich resource,and modest human capital,and were above the average level for Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)countries,African countries,and in the post-crisis era.Our research helps unravel the global significance of Chinese companies investing overseas and contributes to research on the growth effects of direct investment between developing countries.