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.

Rationale

The primary goal of SGAIN is to assess China's efforts to promote green development through its overseas engagement and also investigate the environmental and social impacts of Chinese infrastructure projects in different host contexts. To do this, the project will address three sets of research questions, which focus, respectively, on:

By answering these questions, SGAIN will identify the ways in which Chinese investments reshape local politics and societies in different host country contexts.

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Policy and Governnce

Analysing the design and implementation of Chinese initiatives to govern overseas investments for green development

Sustainability Impact

Examining on-the-ground environmental and social impacts of key China-funded projects for different local stakeholders

Prospective measures

Identify future scenarios and possible measures able to align international investments with local sustainability needs

SGAIN takes an interdisciplinary approach by integrating theories and methods from different social science disciplines including international relations, political economy, development studies, economics, sociology and geography. This is demonstrated by diverse backgrounds of our team members.

We will collect large amounts of primary data from various sources, including interviews with practitioners representing key stakeholders, nationally representative surveys in host countries, and key informant interviews and focus groups with local communities. Our international team allows us to conduct in-depth fieldwork in challenging contexts. We will also apply cutting-edge social science methods including Natural Language Processing, Qualitative Impact Protocol, and participatory approaches to gather and analyse our data. Ultimately, SGAIN will generate novel insights into the processes through which Chinese investments support or hinder sustainable development in different host contexts and offer timely policy recommendations on sustainable infrastructure investments.

Download this flyer describing our research programme.

Methodology