| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this thesis is to explore the determinants of the Chinese global economic footprint with a particular focus on Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). We argue that China’s recent economic growth has created a booming demand for energy resources and that this is a significant determinant for Chinese foreign economic engagement (FEE). Sub Saharan African countries are attractive targets for energy investment because they have many of the resources that China needs. At the same time, China has had a large impact on the development of these countries through its involvement in infrastructural development.
The scope of the thesis is twofold: Firstly, we wish to see if energy resources attract Chinese foreign economic engagement. Secondly, we wish to see if there is a potential link between energy resources and the Chinese engagement in the infrastructure sectors of SSA countries.
By using instrument variable approach on a pooled cross-sectional dataset we find that energy resources are significant in attracting Chinese foreign economic engagement, and that this attraction is stronger for SSA countries. We also find that energy resources attract additional FEE into the infrastructure sector in general, and especially for SSA countries. | nb_NO |
