Environmental risks of China's One Belt One Road initiative

Student: Staroverova Natalia

Faculty: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences

Educational Programme: Asian and African Studies (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2020

China is a major developing country that launched the One Belt and One Road infrastructure project in 2013. In this regard, the study of the environmental aspect of the initiative is relevant. In this paper, China’s actions regarding the environmental aspect of the initiative will be examined in terms of three main theories of international relations. Chinese foreign investment will be studied, the main documents published by the Chinese government will be analyzed, and investment projects will be examined. Analysis of these data will show that most projects are still environmentally hazardous and pose a threat to sustainable development. China is considering financing clean energy projects as a way to maintain the image of a responsible power in the international arena. On the other hand, weak institutions allow Chinese banks to ignore guidelines and recommendations and continue to invest in the production of black energy.

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