Financial Cooperative Potential Between China and Belt and Road Countries

ABSTRACT

Along with the increasingly frequent economic exchanges between China and the Belt and Road countries (BRCs), bilateral and multilateral financial integration within the region has become a current trend. This article quantifies the level of cooperative potential by designing an index based on the investment demand in China and the financing needs of the BRCs. Using this index, this article analyzes the distribution of the financial cooperative potential among the BRCs and uncovers its influencing factors. The statistical findings are that countries with higher financial cooperative potential have closer economic ties with China. These countries are mostly low-income or middle-income countries with a shortage of infrastructure investment, while their economic development is stable. The research results provide guidance for the overseas strategic layout of the Chinese financial institutions. More funds should be injected into China’s trade and investment counterparts that have stable economic growth and a strong demand for infrastructure investment, such as countries in Northeast, Central, and Southeast Asia.