Research On The Location Choices Of Chinese Energy OFDI

China’s energy supply growth is slow,but energy demand is growing.So China’s energy supply and demand gap continues to expand.Changes in international energy prices will gradually exacerbate China’s energy problems.“Belt and Road Initiative” has been proposed in 2013.It is helpful to develop energy foreign direct investment(Energy OFDI).Energy foreign direct investment is facing new challenges.Expanding the scale of energy investment and enhancing the quality of energy investment are urgent problems for Chinese companies.In this paper,we first analyze the status of Chinese energy OFDI in the “One Belt and One Road”.Then based on the previous important OFDI theory and heterogeneous trade theory,the influencing factors of energy OFDI location selection are analyzed from the perspective of country distance.It uses the balance panel data of China and the 65 countries along the “Belt and Road” from 2003 to 2017.It analyzes the influence of country distance and energy endowments on the location choice of energy OFDI with the extended gravity model.Country distance includes economic distance,institutional distance,geographical distance,and cultural distance.The results are as follows.(1)Considering the influence effect of national distance,economic distance,institutional distance,geographical distance and cultural distance has restraining effect on the location choice of China’s energy OFDI.The effect of institutional distance is most significant.Although geographical distance and cultural distance have a negative impact on the location choice of China’s energy OFDI,they are not significant factors.(2)Considering the influence effect of the traditional energy endowment,new energy endowment and technical endowment of the host country have promoted the influence of China’s energy OFDI location selection.Chinese companies should first consider investing in countries with higher levels of technology,and then consider countries with more abundant new energy sources and richer traditional energy sources.The attraction of the new energy endowment of the host country to Chinese enterprises has gradually strengthened,and the new energy endowment has become an important factor that cannot be ignored in the choiceof China’s energy OFDI location.(3)This is a certain substitution relationship between institutional distance and energy endowment.But Institutional distance and economic distance have certain promotion effects.At the same time,the effect of institutional distance and economic distance is more significant.(4)Countries that have signed bilateral investment agreements and free trade agreements with China are more likely to attract Chinese companies to directly invest in energy.Chinese companies are more inclined to invest in countries that have signed FTA agreements with China,and the scale of investment is also larger.(5)There are significant differences in terms of energy OFDI location selection under different conditions which includes different economic distances,institutional distances,and resource abundance.(6)The “One Belt One Road” initiative has reduced the negative impact of economic distance,institutional distance and geographical distance on the choice of energy OFDI location.After the “Belt and Road Initiative” initiative,Chinese companies tend to invest in countries with large economic distances,small institutional distances,and abundant new energy sources.Based on the above research results,we propose some relevant policy recommendations.When conducting foreign direct investment in energy,Chinese enterprises should pay attention to the differences in the distances of countries in different dimensions,focus on the suppression of institutional distance,and fully consider the promotion role of new energy endowments in host countries.Pay attention to the promotion of the “One Belt and One Road” initiative and the Free Trade Agreement on the choice of energy OFDI location.And we should formulate investment plans in line with countries along the route.Lastly we may enhance the profitability of energy international investment.