东道国领导人海外教育背景与中国对外直接投资——基于软实力视角的实证研究

The Overseas Education Background of Host Country Leaders and China’s Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from the Perspective of Soft Power

中国对外直接投资在国家战略布局和全球化过程中具有重要意义。目前对中国对外直接投资区位选择的研究主要从经济视角和政治视角出发,忽略了以教育为路径的国家软实力在区位选择中的重要作用。文章发现,中国的对外直接投资区位选择受到东道国领导人教育背景的影响:如果其有美英教育背景,就会显著削弱相关投资,而中俄教育背景则会显著增强这一投资。发达国家和发展中国家领导人海外教育背景对中国OFDI的影响程度存在差异,发展中国家受到的影响相对较小;在非“一带一路”国家中,中俄教育背景会显著增强中国的对外直接投资,在“一带一路”国家中,美英教育背景则会显著降低相关投资。教育专业背景也对中国外对直接投资具有显著影响:如果领导人学习政治学专业会强化海外教育带来的效应,而经济学专业则对吸引中国的投资具有增强效应。据此,应充分重视来华留学生教育在国家综合软实力和强国战略中的重要载体作用,实施在短期内提高全球化软实力的针对性政策,增强留学教育中对中国国情和文化的认同教育。

China’s outward foreign direct investment(OFDI) plays an important role in its national strategy and globalization. Previous studies on China’s OFDI location patterns mainly focused on economic and political determinants, ignoring the effects of soft power through education. This paper demonstrates that China’s OFDI location choices are subject to host country leaders’ overseas educational background. Leaders with Anglo-American educational background would significantly weaken the entrance of China’s OFDI, while leaders with Sino-Russian educational background would significantly facilitate it. Developing countries, compared with developed countries, witness a decrease in both effects;non-Belt and Road countries witness a stronger facilitating effect of leaders with Sino-Russian educational background whereas Belt and Road countries witness a stronger weakening effect of leaders with Anglo-American educational background. Majors in overseas education also present significant effects on China’s OFDI: majors related to politics strengthen the original weakening or facilitating effects of overseas educational background and majors related to economics facilitate the entrance of China’s OFDI. Therefore, we suggest that China emphasize the role of international students’ education as an important carrier to strengthen China’s soft power. Targeted policies should be implemented to increase China’s soft power in globalization and identification with China’s national conditions and culture should be highlighted in international students’ education.