China’s overseas energy financing drops to lowest in a decade

China’s spending on overseas energy projects has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade, as the nation focuses on domestic issues and rethinks its strategy around indebtedness and the world’s energy mix. 

The nation’s foreign energy financing dropped by 69% to $3.2 billion in 2019, according to data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. Only three nations received financing for new projects from China’s policy banks last year, compared with five the previous year." 

China has financed $251 billion in energy projects since 2000 with about three-quarters of that in Belt and Road nations, according to the research, which tracks data from the country’s two policy banks, the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China. 

At the same time, China’s lending has drawn scrutiny over whether it’s unduly wielding its political clout to force indebtedness on other nations. The oil sector has received the biggest amount of loans, followed by coal and hydro power.