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China’s Policy Banks Stopped All Funding For Overseas Energy Projects Last Year

by Eric Olander

The once seemingly endless flow of Chinese money to fund energy projects throughout the Global South reached a milestone in 2021 when it dropped to zero, according to new research from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center.

A trio of BU researchers found that the dramatic downturn in energy financing by the China Development Bank (CDB) and the China Exim Bank (CHEXIM) marked the culmination of a trend that had been well underway since 2016 when the two banks doled out more than $35 billion in energy loans.

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