Sustainability Governance of China’s Global Infrastructure Investments (SGAIN)

The rise of China as a global power is a defining feature of world politics in the 21st century, but research on the impacts of a rising China on global development remains at a very embryonic stage. As a flagship foreign policy initiative of Beijing, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2013 has brought fundamental changes to international development through large-scale infrastructure investments in the Global South. While some see the BRI as a new and inclusive model of international development cooperation, others point to significant environmental risks associated with many China-funded projects. However, due to the lack of primary data and local expertise, very little research has carefully explored the sustainability impact of Chinese investments on the ground and compare them across national and local contexts.

At the same time, our world urgently needs transformative changes to address ecological crises and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in developing countries. As an emerging power, under what conditions China’s overseas engagement can support global sustainable development has become an important question. Given China’s growing ambition and vital importance in global environmental governance, it is also crucial to understand various mechanisms through which Chinese actors pursue green investments in the Global South, and the extent to which China’s effort can benefit host countries’ green development in the changing geopolitical context.

SGAIN aims to fill these knowledge gaps by investigating sustainability governance of China’s global infrastructure investments, through in-depth research across different host country contexts in the Global South. We focus on Chinese investments in the energy and transportation sectors, starting with three large developing countries in Asia – Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, chosen due to the scale of Chinese investments they have received, and the vital variation in their domestic political economy. Our research will contribute to the debate on the ‘China model’ of international development and advance understanding of China’s role in global sustainability governance. Following a transdisciplinary approach, we will actively engage with all relevant stakeholders in our research process. Ultimately, we will use our findings to help policy practitioners across the globe develop more effective strategies to engage China for supporting global sustainable development.