‘Many Chinas?’ Provincial internationalization and Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa

ABSTRACT Chinese provincial firms are a major and growing source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa, yet there has thus far been little systematic analysis of their motives and behaviour. Based on statistical analysis of a panel of mainland China’s 31 provinces from 2000 to 2015 and a study of three diverse provincial cases, and modifying the classic Organization-Location-Internalization theory of FDI, this article uncovers a three-stage ‘inverted-U’ shaped pathway linking home province internationalization and investment in Africa. Firms from provinces with very low levels of integration in the global economy lack the experience needed to invest in Africa, while those in highly globalized provinces face fewer push factors driving them to (comparatively risky) countries of the developing world. These findings suggest that Chinese provincial FDI in Africa may be driven by a ‘logic of escapism’ alongside conventional FDI motives.