The Spatial Aspects of the "Belt and Road" Initiative in Europe: The Location Patterns, Determinants and Impact of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in the EU Regions

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is entitled, “The Spatial Aspects of the "Belt and Road" Initiative in Europe: The Location Patterns, Determinants and Impact of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in the EU Regions”.

This Special Issue aims at understanding the location patterns, the determinants, and the impact of Chinese FDI in the EU regions, within the framework of the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) (formerly, “One Belt – One Road”). FDI, defined as “an investment involving a long-term relationship and reflecting a lasting interest and control by a foreign direct investor in a foreign direct enterprise” [1], is a constituent element of the BRI. The BRI is the global infrastructure development strategy of China, launched in 2013, that calls for China to assume a greater leadership role in global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status [2]. Following the seminal work of Dunning [3], the existing literature provides rich but diverse evidence with respect to the location patterns, the determinants, and the impact of FDI. However, even though the topic is extremely important given that FDI may contribute to sustainable development, up to now there has only been a handful of studies on Chinese FDI within the BRI [4–6] and no studies have focused on the EU regions. This Special Issue aspires to make a substantial contribution to the topic by publishing papers that contain original scientific work. To this end, and against the backdrop of sustainable development, this Special Issue welcomes papers that are related to the spatial aspects of Chinese FDI in Europe, within the framework of BRI.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The impact of FDI on sustainable development;
• The rationale and the aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative;
• Spatial development patterns in China;
• The economic structure of Chinese regions;
• Spatial development patterns in Europe;
• The economic structure of European regions;
• FDI framework in Europe;
• Location patterns of Chinese FDI in Europe;
• Determinants of Chinese FDI in European regions;
• Impact of Chinese FDI on European regions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

1. IMF. Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition (BPM6). International Monetary Fund: Washington, DC, USA. 2009; pp. 100.
2. Ruta, M.; Dappe, M.H.; Lall, S.V.; Zhang, C.; Constantinescu, C.; Lebrand, M.; Mulabdic, A.; Churchill, E. Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors. World Bank: Washington, DC, USA. 2019.
3. Dunning, J. Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy. Addison-Wesley: Boston, MA, USA. 1993.
4. Chen, M.X.; Lin, C. Foreign Investment across the Belt and Road: Patterns, Determinants, and Effects. Policy Research Working Papers, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-8607.
5. Kher, P.; Tran, T. Investment Protection Along the Belt and Road. MTI Discussion Paper, No. 12. World Bank: Washington, DC, USA. 2019.
6. Lall, S.V.; Lebrand, M. Who Wins, Who Loses? Understanding the Spatially Differentiated Effects of the Belt and Road Initiative. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 8806. World Bank: Washington, DC, USA. 2019.

Prof. Dr. George Petrakos
Prof. Dr. Dimitris Kallioras
Dr. Spyros Niavis
Guest Editors

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• belt and road initiative
• foreign direct investment
• european regions
• location patterns
• determinants
• impact
• sustainable development